Court Convicts, Jails 2 Men 7 Years Over False Information

Court Convicts, Jails 2 Men 7 Years Over False Information

An Otta Chief Magistrate’s Court, Ogun State, has convicted and sentenced two men, Ajayi Sheriff and Lateef Owolola, to four and half years imprisonment, for given false statements to the police.

The two convicts, Ajayi and Sheriff were given the jail-term by Chief Magistrate O. L. Oke, who find them guilty of charges of conspiracy, making false statements, and conduct likely to cause breach of public peace, made against them by the men of Force Criminal Investigation Department (ForceCID) Annex, Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos 

The convicts were charged before the court in a charge marked MOT/437/2020.

The prosecutor, Barrister Morufu Animashaun, while arraigning the convicts, informed the court that the convicts and others now at large, had sometimes in the month of August 2017, at about 11:30a.m, in Gbeniga lju Ebiye, lju Ota, Ogun State, conspired among themselves made false Statement at the General Investigation Section of ForceCID Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos.

The prosecutor also told the court that the convicts had made the false statements against the trio of Lukmon Ajayi Oje, Rasheed Balogun and Fatahi Omoledunmi.

He also told the court that the convicts  procured armed thugs and hoodlums to unleash terror in Gbeniga Ebiye Community and conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause a breach of public peace.

He had informed the court that the offences committed by the convicts, were contrary to Sections 517, 125(A) and 249(d) of the Criminal Law Cap 29 Vol.1 of the Revised Criminal Law of Ogun State, 2006.

The convicts had denied the allegations, and they were subsequently admitted to bail in various terms.

During their trial, the prosecutor called  four witnesses who included; Baale Lukmon Ajayi Ojo; Abdulrasheed Balogun Omoledunmi; Fatai Omoledunmi and John Mofolorunsho Faluyi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) who was the Investigation Police Officer (IPO). While the convicts were the only ones that gave evidence in their defence. 

The prosecutor also tendered The Prosecution tendered 16 exhibits marked as exhibits AS 1 to AS 16, which were admitted by the court.

Delivering judgment on the charges, Chief Magistrate Oke found the two convicts guilty of all the offences made against them by the police.

Magistrate Oke held that the prosecution has successfully proved each of the counts against the convicts beyond every reasonable doubt. He therefore convicted them accordingly.

In his allucutor, the convicts’ counsel, Barrister A. S. Popoola, among other things, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy in sentencing his clients.

Magistrate Oke, after listening to the prosecutor submissions and allucutor made by the convicts’ counsel, sentenced each on the convicts to six months imprisonment without an option of fine on the conspiracy charge, while sentenced them to one year imprisonment on count two, three, four and five. 

The magistrate however ordered the convicts to pay the sum of N150, 000, for each of counts two, three, four and five. The magistrate also ordered that the jail terms shall run consecutively.

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