25th March, 2018
Paul Iyoghojie
A Keke NAPEP operator, Banagana Mustapha, 28, and his five kinsmen have been arraigned before a Lagos Magistrate Court for allegedly beating up an innocent man, Mickey Dauwo, a cook from Cotonou, Republic of Benin and inflicted injuries on his body over allegation that he took his penis with N50 balance.
Also charged with him were his five kinsmen from Borno State, identified as Isah Hassan, 35; Kori Kambo, 35; Alhaji Mustapha, 40; Bulu Umar, 18 and Ismaila Babagana, 32.
Trouble started for the accused persons on 14 March, 2018 at Saka Tinubu Street, Victoria Island when the Keke NAPEP operator, Babagana Mustapha stopped his tricycle and begged the cook who was walking along the road to give him N100 change for him to give to a passenger inside his tricycle and he obliged and changed the N100 note to two N50 notes for him.
The police alleged that shortly after the Keke NAPEP operator collected the two N50 notes from the cook, he raised the alarm that the cook had taken his penis with the two N50 notes he gave to him and started fighting the innocent man to return his penis back to him.
The police alleged that while the duo were fighting, a mobile police officer, Corporal Gideon Balogun who was on his way to work intervened and appealed to the NAPEP operator to take the man to the Bar Beach Police Station instead of fighting him.
It was gathered that instead of heeding the police officer’s advice, he called his five kinsmen on phone who arrived the scene and descended on the police officer and the man they accused of stealing the penis with sticks and other objects and inflicted injuries on their eyes and other parts of their bodies with blood gushing out.
A Police source said that the timely intervention of the DPO In charge of Bar Beach Division, Victoria Island, CSP Olusegun Ajamolaya, saved the two from being killed by the six suspects as he arrested them and took them to the station.
The source said that during investigation, police discovered that the penis of the complainant was not missing.
The suspects were charged before an Igbosere Magistrate Court on a three-count charge of raising false alarm of missing penis and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.
Police Counsel, Reuben Solomon informed the court in charge No M/18/2018 that the offences the accused persons committed were punishable under sections 411, 168(d) and 173 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the alleged crime and Magistrate A.M Davies granted them bail in the sum of N120,000 each with two sureties each in like sum.
Davies adjourned the case till 28 March, 2018 for mention and directed that the defendants be remanded in Ikoyi Prison till they fulfilled the bail conditions.