A suspected thief, Felix Ayeye, has been arraigned before a Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos State.
According to The PUNCH, he was arrested while attempting to sell the phone he stole from his victim, Jones Adewoye, to his wife at their residence in the Ajah area of the state.
According to Adewoye, he was robbed of his phone while he was returning home from work by Ayeye and his gang.
Adewoye, the first witness for the prosecution, testified before the court on Thursday and claimed that during the attack, thugs led by Ayeye allegedly stabbed him with a dagger and stole his phone and other items worth N78,000 from him.
He explained that Ayeye was apprehended while attempting to sell his stolen phone to his wife. Ayeye is charged with two counts bordering on conspiracy to commit robbery and armed robbery.
During the proceedings, the prosecuting counsel, Titilayo Olanrewaju-Daudu, said the offence committed contravened Sections 299 and 297 (2) (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
The defendant, however, entered a not guilty plea to the accusation. As a result, Justice Nico-Clay postponed the case’s trial date until November 10.
Olanrewaju-Daudu announced her arrival at the resumed hearing, and H. O. Ogungbamila showed up on behalf of the accused.
Adewoye, who was led in evidence-in-chief by Olanrewaju-Daudu, told the court that Ayeye, who was remanded in prison custody for the crime, had been sending threatening messages to his wife.
He said, “The incident happened in February 2019. I was returning from work around 5.30am when I alighted from the Uber car and crossed to a dark street at Ajah. My earphones were on and my bag was at my back.
“Suddenly, a torchlight was pointed at my eyes and the defendant broke a bottle on my head, used a dagger to stab my back twice, took all my things and left me on the floor bleeding.
“When I got home, I told my wife to help me get a small phone to contact my company. She was trying to help me buy a small phone when she returned to inform me that someone wants to sell a Samsung phone for N25,000.”
Adewoye claimed that after realizing that the phone matched his stolen phone exactly, he asked his wife to call a mobile police officer.
He said, “When the person who wanted to sell the phone to my wife came to my house, he didn’t change his clothes after he and his gang robbed me. So, I told the mobile policeman that he was the one that robbed me but he denied.
“He said someone gave him the phone to sell. The policeman asked him to get the person who gave him the phone but as the argument was going on, my SIM and memory cards fell from his pocket.
“His family members pleaded with me and asked how much was the things he stole from me, I said N200,000. The family brought N60,000 but I rejected it. I told them the matter was already with the police and there was nothing I could do.
“But in 2020, the defendant started sending messages to my wife from prison threatening that when he leaves the prison, he would deal with my wife.”
The case was adjourned till November 30, for the continuation of trial.
