Man, 26, Two Others In Court Over Firearms

The Police in Lagos on Monday arraigned three men for allegedly being in unlawful possession of “imitation” firearms.

The accused, Kazeem Lasisi (26), Waheed Ayo (40) and Tolulope Ogunleye (24), were arraigned on a four-count charge of conspiracy, attempted armed robbery and unlawful possession of “imitation firearms”.

The prosecutor, Insp. Rita Momoh, told the Yaba Magistrates’ Court that the accused and others at large committed the offence on Oct. 13 at Shapati Town, Ibeju-Lekki, in Lagos around 11.30 p.m.

Momoh said that the accused attempted to rob Noah Ahmed of his money and other valuables with an imitation shotgun, bottles and some other dangerous weapons.

She also said that the accused, who were unlawfully in possession of one imitation shotgun, used it to rob and dispossess members of the public of their valuables.

The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Sections 2 (1), (2)(a) (b), 2 (3) and 6 (b) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

However, the defence counsel, Mr. Adewale Shola, argued that the offence was not authentic as the police did not state the value of what the accused attempted to steal.

“The fourth count is not reliable because the items and names of the members of the public who the police said the accused stole from were not stated on the charge sheet,” he said.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr. P. A. Adekumaya, agreed that the counts were not reliable and urged the lawyer to write a letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), stating the necessary facts.

He, however, said that the accused could not be granted bail because they were in unlawful possession of firearms.

He then ordered that they be remanded in police custody, pending the DPP’s advice on if they could be granted bail by a superior court.