A 28-year-old driver, Kehinde Olawoje, who allegedly stole his employer’s phone worth N109,000, was on Friday brought in a Tinubu Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.
Olawoje, whose address was not provided, is facing a charge of theft
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge, and was granted a N100, 000 bail with one surety.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr Tajudeen Elias, ordered that the surety must be a relative of the defendant.
The prosecutor, Mrs Hafsat Ajibode, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on March 20, about 5.55 a.m. at 12A, Adedoyin Ogungbe St., Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
Ajibode said that the defendant, a private driver, stole a Samsung Galaxy A7 phone valued at N109, 000, belonging to his employer, Mrs Ifeoma Atoh, which she left in her vehicle overnight.
She said that the defendant, who had worked for Atoh for a week, came to her house at the early hours of the morning of March 20 and collected the vehicle key from the security guard.
“The security guard, who thought he had come to resume work for the day, handed over the key to him.
“Olawoje opened the vehicle and took the phone his employer left there the night before and left the premises with it.
“When Atoh discovered that her phone was missing, and her driver was nowhere to be found, she tried to reach him through his phone; but it was off.
“The defendant was later apprehended with the help of an employment agency that hired him,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the offence preferred against the defendant contravenes Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 and attracts seven years’ imprisonment.
The Chief Magistrate adjourned the case until April 18, for mention.