Four men on Monday appeared before an Upper Area Court Gwagwalada, FCT, for allegedly stealing a cell phone valued at N54,000.
The police charged the defendants; Peter Obi, Sunday Onyekachi, Yahaya Husseni and Sanusi Ibrahim, all residents of Giri, FCT, with criminal conspiracy, assault and theft.
The prosecution counsel, Abdullahi Tanko, told the court that the complainant, Godday Jeremiah of Bwari, FCT, reported the matter at the police station on July 23.
Tanko said that the complainant while on his way from Lokoja to Abuja the vehicle he boarded stopped at Giri Park.
He said that the defendants jointly off-loaded his bags without his consent and asked him to pay them for the job.
He said that when the complainant refused, they started beating him and in the process, his iphone 6, valued N54, 000 was stolen.
The prosecutor said that the offence contravened the provision of Sections 96, 264 and 288 of the Penal Code.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Judge, Sani Umar, granted the accused bail in the sum of N100, 000 each, with one surety each in like sum.
Umar said that the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction.
He ordered that the addresses of the sureties must be subjected to scrutiny by staff of the court.
He said each surety must provide means of identifications and must provide two recent passport photographs.
The judge also said that if the defendants failed to meet the bail conditions, they should be remanded in Suleja Correctional Centre.
Umar adjourned the case until Sept. 28 for hearing.