The police on Wednesday arraigned a cleaner, Gideon Mngnor before a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for allegedly breaking into a supermarket to steal.
The defendant from Gboko in Benue is standing trial before Magistrate M.E Owumi, on five counts bordering on burglary and stealing.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
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The prosecutor, Insp Samuel Isholla, told the court that the defendant conspired to commit the offence on December 25, 2023 in a supermarket located at 1004 Housing Estate along Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
He alleged that the defendant and another still at large, broke into Jana and Jaya’s supermarket late night in order to steal.
The prosecutor said that the defendant and his cohort willfully damaged a safe valued at N400, 000, belonging to the supermarket and stole N1million inside it.
He said that the defendant stole a Tecno cell phone valued N120, 000 property of Jana and Jaya’s supermarket.
“The Manager of the Supermarket, Mrs Azeez Kudirat came to report the matter at the Victoria Island Police Station.
“She said on December 26, she came to work and discovered that the safe kept in the store was missing.
“The security guard, known as Stanley that was on night duty was nowhere to be found along with the defendant who is a cleaner in the supermarket.
“The safe was found at the back of the building already damaged and the money kept inside already stolen,’’ he said.
During investigation, it was discovered that the thieves gained access through their CCTV camera room into the store and stole the safe.
The defendant, who ran away, was arrested outside Lagos State by a team of police men from Benue Command with the help of some soldiers.
The offence contravened the provisions of section 287(f), 307, 350 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The court granted the defendant bail in the sum of N200, 000 each, with two sureties each in like sum, and adjourned the case until January 31 for trial.
