From Abel Leonard, Lafia

An upper Area Court in Nasarawa situated at Kwandere Development Area has remanded two university students for shoplifting items belonging to the Lafia City Mall on several dates.

Explaining the nature of the crime on Tuesday, a court official who read out the nature of the case clearly to the hearing of the court and to the both suspects in the English Language from the Police First Investigation Report, said that at about 2030 hrs, Edward Ameh and Emmanuel Onu, male, both 29 years of age, living at millionaires quarters, Lafia, had pretended to buy some items in the Lafia shopping mall and stole some.

‘You conspired and picked items from the shop, paid for some of the items and did not pay others.

‘On the 20 03-2029 at about 1201 hours, you conspired again to pay for some items and did not pay for others.

‘On 20 02 2022 again entered the same Lafia city mall under pretence to buy items, paid for some of the items and hide others without paying.

‘Again on 25 02 2022 at about 1745 hrs, you went and picked some items in pretense, paid some and did not pay others,’ the FIR read.

It was revealed that their end came when the company’s cooperatives were going or checking the footage of the CCTV camera, they discovered both of them stole some of the items valued thirty thousand four hundred and ten naira (N30,410.00).

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On investigation by the police at the station, the police told the court that both of the suspects confessed to having stolen some of the items as indicated by the CCTV camera.

The police prosecutor had plead with the court to invoke section 97 and 287 of the penal code of the Northern Nigeria in 1963 as suggested because both Edward Ameh ‘and Emmanuel Onu have committed offences contrary to sections.

Responding immediately after the FIR was read to the hearing of the court is the chief Judge, Magistrate Saifullah Bala Abdullahi who asked the suspects if they understood the allegations levelled on them which they said yes and confirmed to the court that they are guilty of the crime as charged.

The magistrate judge in wisdom preserve the judgement, and sentence for Friday, 4th March 2022, but directed that the both of them be remanded at the Lafia correctional Centre until the said date.

Daily Sun made efforts to speak with the council of the defendant, Barrister Jo, who said he is not in the right state of mind to speak refer us to the boss who was not in court.

Also speaking is the council to the Lafia City Mall, Barrister Abdullahi Ubandoma Abdullahi, who said they were in court to observe and to hear the nature of the crime so as to know where they would come in as they are aware and concerned about the incessant theft happening inside the shopping mall and wants justice to be done to serve as a warning to others.

‘We are council of the Lafia city mall, we are here to observe the case of theft according to the police FIR the suspects have admitted to the crime and the judge had also reserved his judgement for Friday 4th march for sentencing so let’s see what happened,’ he added.

Reacting on how he would perceived the case to become, he said it is left for the defendants’ lawyer to know what to do as for them they are okay with the judgement.