2 ladies docked for theft

Nnamdi Felix / Abuja

One Mrs. Sonia Iwuoha, 27, wife to a son of a retired Commissioner of Police and Miss Blessing Adaba Lawson, 26, were on Thursday dragged before an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court on an alleged criminal conspiracy, forgery and theft contrary to sections 97, 363 and 286 of the Penal Code law.

The duo who were said to be “adopted children” of late Ms. Christiana Don Pedro, a former staff of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, were alleged to have conspired with others at large to alter the next-of-kin details of the late Ms. Don Pedro and collected the sum of N6 million from the NNPC being money paid by the Corporation for the funeral arrangement of the late Ms. Don Pedro, without the consent of the bonafide members of the family of the late Ms. Don Pedro.

The suspects were alleged to have converted the said money for their own use leaving the bonafide family members to carry out the funeral rites of their departed daughter on their own. This offence, according to the First Investigation Report filed before the court by the Police, is punishable under section 97(2), 366 and 287 of the Penal Code.

The late Ms. Don Pedro who died on 14th June, 2011 was said to have taken in Sonia, a Gambian national, then Miss Sonia Conteh, who served as her house help. She later, after the death of her benefactor, got married to one Mr. Iwuoha, son of an Abuja based former Commissioner of Police. While serving the late Ms. Don Pedro who was also living with a distant relation, Miss Blessing Adaba Lawson, the late Ms. Don Pedro took both girls as her own children, as she was said to have been single and living alone then.

Both girls benefited from the benevolence of the late NNPC staff who, investigations revealed, funded the girls academic pursuit at different institutions before her death.

However, after the charge contained in the first investigation report was read to them, both suspects pleaded not guilty to the charge. Their lawyer, Mr. Dembe Terrence thereafter made an oral application for their bail which the Magistrate, Mr. Okagu, summarily granted and admitted the suspects to bail in the sum of N500, 000 with two sureties each in like sum.The prosecutor, Mr. Usman Jibril, subsequently requested for a date for trial and the court adjourned to Monday, 3rd September for their trial to commence.