Court Orders IGP To Arrest 3 Men Accused Of Stealing N19.2m Cosmetics

Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of a Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, has ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Akali Baba, to arrest three men, Tunde Yusuf, Adebayo Dayo and Michael Obisiji and produce them before the court, over alleged stealing of cosmetics worth N19, 214,120 million.

Judge ordered the arrest of the three men following their absent to take their plea, in a criminal charge filed against them by IGP through the Force Criminal Investigation Department (ForceCID) Annex, Alagbon, Lagos.

The prosecuting counsel, Barrister Morufu Animashaun had in a charge marked LD/13338C/2020, alleged that defendants stole 245 cartons of cosmetics valued at N19, 214,120 million.

The prosecutor said, defendants and others now at large, had sometime in March, 2020 at Apapa Tin-Can Port, stole 245 cartons of cosmetics valued at N19, 214,120 million, property of one Remiginus Okafor.

At the resumed hearing of the charge, the prosecutor, Animashaun told the court that “whereabout of the defendants is unknown”.

Animashaun further said, “we have not been able to get the defendants. The investigation team has been transfer out of jurisdiction due to insecurity in the country.”

The prosecution had filed two counts charge bordering on conspiracy to commit felony to wit: stealing and stealing against the trio, Yusuf,  Dayo and Obisiji.

Animashaun said their offence contravened sections 287(5) and 411 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015 and punishable under the same law 

However, due to absence of the defendants to take their plea, Justice Abike-Fadipe directed the police to arrest the defendants before the next adjourn date. 

She subsequently adjourned the matter to February 8, 2023 for the arraignment of the defendants.