CYRIACUS IZUEKWE
A jobless 18-year-old teenager, Michael Segun, has been arrested for allegedly conspiring and battering a security guard for attempting to stop him from smoking Indian hemp in a popular hotel in Lagos State.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the incident happened on 1st June, 2023, at the popular Larryem Hotel, Abule Egba, Lagos.
The Police alleged that the suspect, Segun, went to the hotel to smoke weed and was accosted by the security guard, Shettima Ibrahim, who rebuked him for smoking in the hotel premises.
The guard’s rebuke led to disagreement and exchange of words between the duo. In the process, Segun went out, arranged with his friends and they went to the hotel and brutally attacked the guard with plank and bottles. The security guard sustained injury in the process of the attack.
He was rushed to an undisclosed hospital for treatment and the matter was reported to the Police in the area. The suspect, Segun, was then arrested and detained at the station for interrogation over his alleged conduct.
After rounds of interrogation, the Police found him culpable and subsequently charged him before the Ogba Magistrate Court for the alleged offence, which contravened Sections 173 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
The prosecutor, ASP Raji Akeem, told the Court that the defendant, who resides at Captain area, Abule Egba, Lagos, was charged for conspiracy and assault for inviting his friends and brutally assaulting the complainant, Mr Shettima Ibrahim, a hotel security guard, for daring to rebuke him for smoking Indian hemp within the hotel before was rushed to hospital for medical attention.
However, Segun pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned.
The prosecutor then asked the Court to give a date for hearing since he pleaded not guilty to enable the Police to prove that he actually committed the alleged offence.
The Presiding Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Bola Osunsanmi, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum, who must show evidence of means of livelihood and addresses verified by the Court.
The matter was adjourned till 2nd August, 2023, for mention while the defendant was remanded in custody at the Correctional Centre at Kirikiri town, Lagos, pending when he will perfect his bail conditions.