Court remands Seven suspects for stealing fish, others worth #40m in Ilorin 

By Ife Faniran

Kwara State Magistrate Court sitting in Ilorin on Wednesday ordered the immediate remand of Seven in prison for their alleged involvement in the stealing of fish worth #40million in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.

The defendants, Paul Friday, Joy Nanpen, Sunday Maikarfi, Stephen Philip, Emmanuel Clement, David Nankam, and Issac Friday were arrested for robbing two farm companies of farm products and machineries located at Asa dam road area of Ilorin metropolis.

According to the charge sheet, the police received a complaint through a petition letter written by the two fishery companies, AFAB Nigeria Ltd and YEXJOK Global ventures that their farms was robbed sometimes in March, whereby they jointly lost farm products and machineries valued at #40,000,000 but all efforts to apprehend the thieves proved abortive.

However on the 11th of this month at about 10:30pm, Mr Jimoh Mohammed who is the Director of one of the said companies received an information that, his farm is being robbed, on getting to the farm,he was able to identify the seven who were staying very close to the farm.

On getting the information, the team of Police and local vigilantes swung into action leading to the defendants’ arrest, thereafter, search conducted at their premises led to the recovery of two cutlasses and one cartaport, one knife, one trimming scissors.

The police also recovered 850 live fishes inside the pond in their compound.

According to the investigation by the police, the defendants were said to have confessed to have carried out the criminal activity.

In his address to the court, Prosecutor Gbenga Ayeni urged the court to remand the septet at the correctional facility, premising on the fact that their offences are not ordinarily bailable.

In her ruling, Magistrate Monisola Gbadeyan Kamson while acknowledging that she doesn’t have the jurisdiction to try the offences the defendants were accused of, ordered the remand of the septet at the correctional Facility, pending the arrival of legal advice from office of the Attorney General.

Kamson thereafter adjourned the matter till 4th of October for further mention.