Oluwatosin Lamidi
The Lagos State Mobile Court has sentenced 15 hoodlums to two years imprisonment in connection with Monday’s mayhem at Idi-Oro area of Mushin, Lagos.
The Lagos State Government had arraigned 39 out of the 68 arrested hoodlums by security operatives during the fracas that claims lives.
The Magistrate, Tosin Ojuromi, who presided over at the Lagos State Mobile Court in Oshodi sentenced 15 persons who pleaded guilty out of the 39 accused to 6 months/two years imprisonment with option of fine ranging from N150,000 to N200, 000 respectively.
16 accused persons who pleaded not guilty were granted bail with two sureties (40 yrs above) in like sum of N250,000 each, evidence of three years tax clearance and must deposit N50,000 to the State Government.
The remaining eight accused persons were discharged and acquitted by the court after proper identifications. Those who pleaded not guilty had their cases adjourned till Thursday, 25 May, 2017 for commencement of trials.
The Registrar of the Lagos State Mobile Court, Ibrahim Oseni, disclosed after the court proceedings that the Lagos State Government provided free legal services for all the 36 accused persons through Barrister Abdulsalam Bashir from the Office of Public Defenders.
The court further pronounced that the recovered bags of weed suspected to be Indian hemp be immediately destroyed in the public with coverage.
The Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, Olayinka Egbeyemi, had said that the 39 people arraigned in court were youth leaders and gang members from Alamutu Street and Akala Elegba boys.
He disclosed further that they engaged themselves in a free for all that resulted in the loss of lives with serious looting of valuable properties of innocent traders which included several food items like bags of rice, beans, palm oil, banana and burning of houses/shops around Idi-Oro.
The chairman stated that dangerous weapons recovered by security agencies during the fracas included” machets, axe, rods, cutlases, charms and six bags of weed suspected to be indian hemp.
Egbeyemi said that the huge investments on both infrastructural development and security apparatus across the State by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration was meant to provide a peaceful environment devoid of any criminal activities.
He urged parents and guidance to always monitor the activities of their wards as the government would not spare anyone or group of persons caught breaching the peace being enjoyed by the citizens across the nooks and crannies of the State.
Egbeyemi said it was the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni ordered that the 39 arrested people be charged to court.
“Out of a total of 68 arrested notorious miscreants and hoodlums at the scene, 29 who do not have direct connections to the fracas were properly screened and released leaving 39 to be prosecuted in court,” he said.
