The Lagos State Magistrate Court in Ejigbo has handed down sentences spanning 18 months to two individuals for vandalising transformers belonging to Ikeja Electric Plc.
A statement issued on Wednesday by the Ikeja Electric’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Kingsley Okotie, indicated that the first convict identified as Abubakar Alido was caught by a security guard vandalising a 500KVA transformer in Michael Aladesuyi Street, Egbeda, and was subsequently handed over to the police.
He said upon the conclusion of investigations, the police arraigned the defendant at the Magistrate Court 1, Ejigbo on June 14, 2024 and charged for wilful damage of transformer cables contrary to Section 339 of the Criminal Law of Lagos and punishable under Section 350 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
The defendant pleaded ‘guilty’ when the charge was read to him.
Upon investigation, the police arraigned Alido at the Magistrate Court 1, Ejigbo, on June 14, 2024, charged with wilful damage of transformer cables, contrary to Section 339 and punishable under Section 350 of the Lagos State Criminal Law of 2015. Alido pleaded guilty when the charges were read to him. The case was adjourned to July 2, 2024, for sentencing.
On the adjourned date, the prosecutor summarised the facts, and Alido admitted them as true. His statement to the police was tendered and admitted as Exhibit A. Consequently, the court sentenced him to one-year imprisonment, effective from his arraignment date.
The court highlighted the importance of this sentence as a deterrent to other vandals, given the rising incidence of such crimes in the area.
The second convict identified as Ishola Olatunji was caught by some members of the Karimu Laka Street community in Alimosho area of the state and was subsequently handed over to the police. Upon conclusion of investigations, the police arraigned the defendant at the Magistrate Court 1, Ejigbo on March 11, 2024.
The defendant was charged with an attempt to steal Ikeja Electric transformer cables contrary to and punishable under Section 287 Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015. The defendant pleaded ‘not guilty’ when the charge was read to him, and he was granted bail. Pending the perfection of his bail conditions, he was ordered to be remanded at the KiriKiri Correctional Centre.
PUNCH Metro gathered that when the matter came up again, the defendant notified the court of his intention to change his plea from “not guilty” to “guilty”.
His guilty plea was then recorded by the court, and the prosecutor summarised the facts of the case.
During the summary, the defendant’s statement to the police was tendered and admitted as Exhibit A. Following this, the defendant admitted the summarised facts as true and correct. Given the defendant’s admission, the court sentenced him to six months imprisonment, counting from the date of his arraignment in court.–
