A 38-year-old cleaner, Maduabuchi Eze, on Tuesday appeared before a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for allegedly stealing a Toyota Hiace bus worth N8 million belonging to his employer.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Eze is facing two counts of conspiracy and stealing.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The prosecutor, ASP Wewe Adegbayi, told the court that the defendant allegedly committed the offences on June 2, at JP Chris Motors Ltd., in Mushin area of Lagos.
Adegbayi said the defendant, who is a cleaner, conspired with another staff of the company, now at large, to steal a bus with Chassis No: TRH200-0018608, valued at N8 million belonging to his employer.
She said that the bus, suspected to have been driven off by the accomplice, was still being tracked by the police.
The offences, she said, contravened sections 411 and 287 (7) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).
NAN reports that Section 287 (7) prescribes a seven-year jail term upon conviction for stealing from one’s employer, while Section 411 stipulates two years imprisonment for conspiracy.
The Chief Magistrate, Adeola Adedayo, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum.
She held that the sureties must submit copies of their National Identification Number (NIN) and Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) cards.
She further directed that both sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and be gainfully employed with evidence of three years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
Adedayo adjourned the case until Aug. 4 for mention.
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