A 21-year-old bus conductor, Seun Ayinde, was on Friday remanded in Kirikiri Prisons after pleading guilty to stealing phones valued at N110,000.
An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, which gave the ruling, said the man should remain behind bars pending sentence on June 4.
Ayinde, a resident of Ketu, Lagos, had pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing before Magistrate Mrs A.K Dosunmu.
The accused committed the offences on May 12 at Ojodu-Berger, Lagos, the Police prosecutor, Sgt. Dada Wasiu, told the court.
He said that the accused conspired with two other persons still at large to steal two phones belonging to Mr Onyekachi Ukabi.
“The accused stole a Tecno Phantom 6 valued at N75,000 and a Lenovo phone worth N35,000, totalling N110,000,” Wasiu said.
The prosecutor said that the complainant was inside his car when the accused approached him and started asking him irrelevant questions.
“The accused distracted the complainant by asking him for direction; before he knew what was happening, one of the accused took his phones which he put on the handbrakes.
“The accused took to their heels, but the complainant abandoned his car and ran after them.
“He was able to apprehend the accused, and others escaped with the phones.
“The complainant handed over the accused to the police,” the prosecutor said.
The offences contravene Sections 287 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015(Revised).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that section 287 prescribes three years jail term for stealing, while conspiracy, according to section 411, attracts two years imprisonment.
