A mother of two was charged by the police on Monday at the Wuse Zone II Magistrates’ Court in Abuja for allegedly stealing phones during church.
Chisom Nwogbo, the 26-year-old defendant, is accused of criminal conspiracy and theft, two counts she denies. Nwogbo works as a cosmetics artist.
Oyeyemi Adeniyi, the police prosecutor, said the court that on September 13, a Miss Esther Silas from Mana Apartment in Dawaki, Abuja, submitted a petition to the Commissioner of Police in Abuja about the crime.
According to Oyeyemi, the defendant committed the crime on September 10 by dressing as a worshipper and going to Inspiration Life Community Church in the Jahi neighborhood of Abuja.
In addition, he said that Nwogbo had taken five phones, including the iPhone 14 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy A32, iPhone X5, Techno Pop 5, and another Samsung Galaxy model. The complainant and her friends had also lost a black handbag.
He claims that the phones were tracked to Idu, Abuja, during the inquiry, and there the defendant was taken into custody.
He went on to say that the Techno, iPhones, and black handbag were found when the defendant’s home was searched.
Additionally, she admitted to the police that she had sold the other phones to Paul, also known as Daddy Fresh, who is currently at large.
According to him, “the defendant admitted to the police that she had visited five different churches within the Federal Capital Territory and had stolen worshippers’ phones using similar tactics.”
According to Oyeyemi, it was subsequently discovered that the complainants’ N1.3 million and N150,000 had been taken out of their accounts.
He mentioned that N2 million worth of Samsung and iPhone XS devices had also been taken from the defendant.
The convictions violated articles 97 and 288 of the Penal Code, according to the prosecution.
Ophie Ogheneyerowho, the defense attorney, requested bail on behalf of his client, claiming that “the defendant is currently nursing a baby.”
He continued by saying that the defendant had given all necessary information to the police without reluctance and had cooperated with them throughout the inquiry.
If granted bail, he assured the court that the prisoner would not violate it, and he added that trustworthy sureties were ready and waiting in court to act in the defendant’s place.
But pointing out that the “defendant is innocent until proven guilty,” he requested the court to grant its client the broadest possible bail.
While the prosecution did not raise any issues with the defendant’s bail, she did ask the court to exercise its discretion carefully.
The defendant was granted bail in the amount of N2 million by Magistrate Izinyon Ibironke, with two sureties who had to be legally resident within the court’s jurisdiction and have a source of income.
She ordered the court officials to confirm the sureties’ addresses and postponed the matter until October 19 for a hearing, according to NAN.
