Five men — Sampson Otache, Isaac Emmanuel, Sunday Ogbonna, Wasiu Are, Cyril Ngoka — were on Wednesday brought before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly stealing and vandalising cables in the Nigerian Railway Corporation compound valued at N535,000.
The accused — Otache, 19; Emmanuel, 23; Ogbonna, 23; Are, 32, and Ngoka, 27 — are standing trial on a two-count charge of conspiracy and unlawful disconnection and theft of electric cables, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.
Ngoka, a resident in the railway compound, allegedly collected a bribe of N6,000 to enable the accused to cart away the items.
The Police Prosecutor, ASP Moses Uamdemevvo told the court that the accused committed the offences on Jan. 22 at 1.45 a.m. at Nigerian Railway Corporation compound in Ebute Meta.
He said the accused had trespassed into the compound and unlawfully disconnected, tampered with and stolen electric cables valued at N535,000, property of Nigerian Railway Corporation.
Uamdevmobo urged the court to remand the five accused in prison and attached a remand warrant to the charge sheet.
The offences contravened Sections 1(10) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Laws of the Federation 2004 and Section 19 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs A.O. Salawu, adjourned until Feb. 14 for ruling on the bail application of the accused.