Five men on Thursday appeared before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court over alleged malicious damage to four cars.
The defendants: Nurudeen Bashiru, 24; Ebube Nwachin,18; Alade Olotu, 21; Idris Aina, 24, and Kayode Ogundare, 24, were charged with conspiracy, breach of the peace, unlawful display of arms in public and malicious damage.
The prosecutor, Insp Adegoke Philip, alleged that the defendants and some others still at large committed the offences on Jan. 16 at Ebute-Meta, Lagos State.
Philip said that the defendants conducted themselves in a manner likely to breach the peace by displaying arms in public.
“The defendants displayed toy guns, cutlasses, scissors, iron rods among others, in such a manner as to cause terror to the residents of the area,” he told the court.
He said that the defendants unlawfully damaged four cars belonging to Mrs Wale Fanire, Oladejo Ahmed, Rasheed Adekele and Kehinde Pedro.
“They destroyed the windscreens, side mirrors, door glasses of two Honda accords, property of Fanire and Adeleke, a Toyota Camry belonging to Ahmed and J4 bus, property of Pedro.
“The value of the damaged vehicles is yet to be ascertained,” he said.
The prosecutor said the alleged offences contravened Sections 51,168, 350 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Our correspondents reports that Section 51 prescribes two years’ jail term for unlawful display of arms while Section 350 attracts two years’ jail term for malicious damage.
Following their pleas of not guilty, the Magistrate, Mrs O.A. Akokhia, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N50,000 each with two sureties each in like sum.
Akokhia ruled that all the sureties should be gainfully employed and show evidence of two years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
She adjourned the case until Feb. 18 for mention.
