Why Court Sent NURTW Chieftain Koko Zaria To Prison

 By Ayodele Ifasakin 

A Lagos Chief Magistrate’s Court yesterday remanded a chieftain of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Ganiyu Oyedepo (aka Kokozaria), in prison custody for assaulting an actor, Alhaji Ade Adele (aka Baba Lawori).

Oyedepo was remanded following his arraignment on alleged offences of conspiracy, assault occasioning harm, and conduct likely to cause breach of public peace.

Chief Magistrate B. Sonuga remanded Oyedepo, after he pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him by the operatives of the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID).

The prosecutor, Morufu Animashaun, a legal officer in the legal department of FCIID, Alagbon, in a charge marked B/40/2024, told the court that the defendant committed the offences on June 5, 2024, at Idimu, by conspiring with some of his ‘boys’ to assault Adele.

He said in the course of the assault, Oyedepo’s boys, injured Adele in the head with a bottle.

He told the court that the offences committed by the defendant, contravened sections 411; 173 and 168 (l)(d) of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State and punishable under section 168 (2) of the same laws.

The charges are “That you Ganiyu Oyedepo on or about the June 25, 2024 at Idimu, Lagos in the Lagos Magisterial District, Lagos conspired to commit Felony wit: Assault Occasioning Harm and committed an Offence contrary to Section 411 of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State

That you Oyedepo on the said date unlawfully procured one of your boys (now at large) who unlawfully broke bottle and inflicted injuries on the head of one Alhaji Ade Adele and committed an Offence contrary to Section 173 of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State 2015.

“That you Oyedepo conducted yourself in a manner likely to cause breach of peace when you threatened and procured one of your boys (now at large) to break bottle on the head of Adele and committed an Offence contrary to Section 168 (l)(d) of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State 2015 and punishable under Section 168 (2) of thé same Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos state 2015.”

Oyedepo denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

His lawyers, S. Bello with S. O. Ajetomobi, moved for bail application, saying the charge against their client is a bailable one.

Why Court Sent NURTW Chieftain Koko Zaria To Prison 

They urged the court to grant him bail in the most liberal terms.

Chief Magistrate Sonuga after hearing counsels’ submissions granted Oyedepo bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum.

The sureties, according to the Chief Magistrate, must be of unquestionable character, with evidence of means of livelihood and must be residing within the court’s jurisdiction.

The Chief Magistrate also ordered the sureties to present to court evidence of three years tax, and have their addresses verified.

Chief Magistrate Sonuga, while adjourning the matter to October 29, for mention, however, remanded the defendant in the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) custody, pending the perfection of the bail terms.

Online

I’d Love To Return To Prison, I Will Still Spray Money – Bobrisky

Controversial cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, has said he would love to go back to Kirikiri Correctional Centre.

DAILY POST recalls that Bobrisky was released on Monday, August 5, 2024, after serving six months imprisonment for abusing the naira by spraying it at parties.

He was sentenced to six months imprisonment on April 12, 2024, without the option of a fine by Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

Appearing on the ‘Curiosity Made Me Ask’ show, hosted by content creator Bae U Barbie, Bobrisky said he would love to go back to jail

“I see my jail term as a vacation. You know, on vacation, you go and rest. I’ve been working so hard, and I think their decision was okay for me,” Bobrisky said.

“The decision was to break me, but sadly, nothing happened to Mummy of Lagos. I’m still fine, I’m still good, and I will continue to be fine and good.”

The host, Bae U, asked, “Prison fit you o! Would you like to go again?”

Bobrisky replied, “I would love to go, maybe for a short term like that again. Short term, not long-term.

“The reason why I would love to go again is that these people really want to break me. I have never seen anywhere you are going to sentence someone to prison for spraying money.

“It’s funny to me. Everything happened like a movie. Spraying of money? It’s my money. I’m not owing anybody money. I did not steal money. I did not kidnap, I did not rape. I did not kill anybody. I spent my own hard-earned money, and I was sentenced to where we have a lot of criminals.

“But like I always say, I’m a very strong person. If I have chosen this lifestyle to be who I wanna be, then I should be ready for the worst. And the worst that has happened is sending me to prison because, obviously, I did not do anything, I did not kill anybody.”

“I’m not an ex-convict because I can’t be convicted for spraying money. So I won’t accept it,” he said.

Bobrisky said he would now spray only dollars at events.

He said, “I am still going to spray money but I will only spray dollars not naira.

He added that he is not an ex convict because he cannot be convicted for spraying money.

I’d Love To Return To Prison, I Will Still Spray Money – Bobrisky

Court Sentences two persons to Prison over IE Transformer Vandalism

By Ayodele Awosika:

The Lagos State Magistrate Court in Ejigbo has handed down sentences to two individuals for vandalizing transformers belonging to Ikeja Electric Plc.

Abubakar Alido received a one-year sentence for vandalizing a 500KVA transformer on Michael Aladesuyi Street, Egbeda, under the Omo Osho 11KV Feeder, while Ishola Olatunji was sentenced to six months for attempting to vandalize a transformer on Karimu Laka Street, Egbeda, under the Orelope 11KV Feeder. Alido was apprehended by a security guard and handed over to the police. The incident occurred when Alido was found tampering with the transformer cables.

 Court Sentences two persons to Prison over IE Transformer Vandalism

Upon investigation, the police arraigned Alido at the Magistrate Court 1, Ejigbo, on June 14, 2024. He was charged with wilful damage of transformer cables, contrary to Section 339 and punishable under Section 350 of the Lagos State Criminal Law of 2015. Alido pleaded guilty when the charges were read to him. The case was adjourned to July 2, 2024, for sentencing.

On the adjourned date, the prosecutor summarized the facts, and Alido admitted them as true. His statement to the police was tendered and admitted as Exhibit A. Consequently, the court sentenced him to one-year imprisonment, effective from his arraignment date. The court highlighted the importance of this sentence as a deterrent to other vandals, given the rising incidence of such crimes in the area.

In a similar case, Ishola Olatunji was caught by members of the Karimu Laka community attempting to vandalize a 500KVA transformer. The community members, vigilant and proactive, handed Olatunji over to the police. Following an investigation, the police arraigned Olatunji at the Magistrate Court 1, Ejigbo, on March 11, 2024. He was charged with the attempted theft of transformer cables, punishable under Section 287 of the Lagos State Criminal Law of 2015.

Olatunji initially pleaded not guilty and was granted bail, with an order for remand at the Kiri-Kiri Correctional Facility pending the perfection of his bail conditions. However, he later opted to change his plea to guilty. During the hearing, the prosecutor summarized the case facts, which Olatunji admitted to. His statement to the police was also tendered and accepted as Exhibit A. The court then sentenced him to six-month imprisonment, counting from his arraignment date.

Speaking on the judgments, the Business Manager of Akowonjo Business Unit, Engr. Abayomi Bolorunde expressed satisfaction and hope that these sentences would serve as a strong deterrent to other potential vandals. He reiterated Ikeja Electric's commitment to curtailing the vandalism of its assets, emphasizing the significant damage such activities cause to the company's operations and the inconvenience they bring to customers. He urged communities to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities, as vandals continue to devise new methods to disrupt electricity supply and plunge customers into darkness.

Ikeja Electric's spokesman and Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Kingsley Okotie commended the joint efforts of both the Security and Legal teams at Ikeja Electric, as well as other external stakeholders and thanked them for their dedication while ensuring that the cases were pursued to a logical conclusion. He lamented the adverse impact of vandalism on Ikeja Electric's business and assured that the company would continually leverage its relationships with the police and other community stakeholders to get the vandals out of business.

He reiterated that proactive measures taken by Ikeja Electric and the collaboration with local communities highlight the ongoing battle against infrastructure vandalism, ensuring that perpetrators face the full wrath of the law while safeguarding essential services for the public.