MICHAEL AKINOLA
Police operatives from the Lagos State Command have arrested a couple involved in “One chance” robbery, Joseph Okoro, 54 and his partner, Tina Nebeife, 40 and charged them for kidnapping and obtaining ransom from victims.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the couple landed in trouble after they were apprehended by the Commissioner of Police Special Squad 2 at Salvation Bus Stop in Opebi after they kidnapped a woman, Saida Kazeem, with their operational vehicle, a Toyota Carmry car with registration number, AKD 992 JC, to an unknown place through Joel Ogunnaike Street in GRA, Ikeja, to an unknown place.
The victim unknowingly boarded their vehicle around 6.00am, which had three members of their gang as “passengers” including the driver, on her way to Yaba before they diverted her to another direction to obtain money from her.
However, they ran out of luck while they were escaping with the victim, as the Police, who suspected the vehicle, moved after them and they pushed the victim out of their moving vehicle. She fell down and sustained injury.
But that did not deter the Police, who continued to trail them and eventually apprehended the two suspects while one of their accomplices, identified as Uchechukwu Ileanyi, escaped and now at large.
The Police also recovered their operational vehicle as exhibit and kept it at the station.
Having been found culpable after interrogation, they were subsequently charged before the Ogba Magistrate Court for the alleged kidnapping under the Criminal Laws of the State, which attracts several years of imprisonment.
They however, pleaded not guilty.
The prosecutor, Supol Akeem Raji, then asked the Court to give a date for hearing since they pleaded not guilty to enable the Police to prove that they actually committed the alleged offence.
The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. B.O. Osunsanmi, granted them bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum, who must show evidence of means of livelihood and addresses verified including tax payment.
The matter was adjourned for mention while they were remanded in custody at the correctional centre at Kirikiri town, Lagos, pending when they will perfect their bail conditions.
Before their arraignment, the Lagos Police Public Relations, Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, had revealed that some suspected thieves were always parking around some strategic areas in the State in the pretense of taking passengers to their destination but instead take them to an unknown destination and steal from them.
As the defendants have been remanded in custody, it may not take much time for them to regain their freedom from prison custody and go back to their criminal activities in the State.
This could be attributed to no evidence to prosecute them and the alleged offence committed is usually bailable offence. As such the Court will have no option than to release them from custody and discharge them if the Police cannot prove the case before the Court.