Police Arraign 3 for Alleged Land Grabbing, Contempt

Three men, Mukaila Salami, 68, Tajudeen Mujeed, 58 and Taiwo Salami, were today, brought before Tinubu Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos State, for offences bordering on conspiracy, land grabbing, disobedience to court order and conduct likely to cause breach of public peace.

The three defendants were arraigned before Magistrate T. A. Elias led-Court, by the men of Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (ForceCIID) Annex, Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos.

The police alleged in a charge numbered A/110/19, that the three defendants and others now at large, sometimes between 2017 and 2019, at Owu Ikosi Community, in Imope Village, in Agbowa/Ikosi-Ejirin, conspired among themselves to commit the alleged offences.

They were alleged to have disobeyed and disrespected an order of the court, delivered on August 29, 2019, by of Chief Magistrate O. O. Olatunji and forcibly entered the community lands engaged in selling the land illegally.

The first defendant, Mukaila Salami, was alleged to have disobeyed and disrespected an order of the court, delivered on August 29, 2019, by of Chief Magistrate O. O. Olatunji and installed himself as Baale of Imope Village.

The alledged acts of the defendants, the police said caused breach of the community’s peace.

Arraigning the defendants today, Mr. Morufu Animashaun, the Legal Officer of  ForceCIID, told the court that all the defendants were arrested following a petition by the people of the community. Adding that they were all found culpable of the allegations after investigation was conducted.

He told the court that the offences committed by the defendants, contravened sections 411, 53, 52, 104(1)(i() and 168(d) and punishable under section 52 of the Criminal laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.

All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Following defendants’ not guilty plea, their lawyer, N. A. Rufai, urged the court to grant them bail in the most liberal terms, on the ground that the charges against them are bailable ones.

But the prosecutor, Mr. Animashaun, urged the court to declined defendants’ request on the ground that it will jeopardize police efforts in apprehending those at large and that the defendants will tamper with the prosecution’s witnesses.

However, ruling on parties’ submissions, Magistrate Elias, conceded to defence submission and admitted bail to the defendants in the sum of N100, 000 with one surety each.

The Magistrate while adjourning the matter till February 13, 2020, for trial, ordered that the defendants be remanded in the custody of Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) till the perfection of the bail terms.

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