Okwudili Orji, 42, was arrested on Monday for allegedly stealing iron rods worth N5 million in the Ejigbo area of Lagos State.
Orji was charged with two counts of theft before the Yaba Magistrates’ Court by Chief Magistrate Patrick Nwaka.
The prosecution, Cyril Ejiofor, informed the court that the offenses committed by Orji violated Sections 314 and 287 of the Lagos State Criminal Law 2015.
The charge read in part, “That you, Okwudili Orji, sometime in the month of September 2022, around 9 am, at Bucknor Junction, Ejigbo, Lagos State, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did fraudulently obtained iron rods worth N5m, from one Uzoma Patrick, a representation which you knew to be false, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 314 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.”
The defendant, on the other hand, pled not guilty to the accusations.
N. C. Okparauwa, the defense lawyer, urged the court to grant his client bail on the most lenient conditions possible.
With no opposition from the prosecution, the magistrate granted the defendant bail in the sum of N1m with two responsible sureties in the same amount.
He ordered that the sureties be gainfully employed in Lagos State and not self-employed and that they provide a three-year tax clearance receipt that the court can verify.
Magistrate Nwaka delayed the matter to August 28, 2023, for further consideration.
