A 31-year-old man, Kehinde Hassan, has been arraigned before a Yaba Magistrate’s Court for allegedly stealing diesel valued at N1m from his employer in the Somolu area of Lagos State.

Hassan was arraigned before Magistrate P.E. Nwaka on Friday on two counts of stealing preferred against him by the Lagos State Police Command.

The defendant, who confessed to have been stealing from the company since January, said he used to fill two 25-litre kegs with diesel and sell them to a Hausa man outside their office every Sunday when he was on weekend shifts for N15,000 or N19 000.

The prosecutor, Thomas Nurudeen, told the court that the defendant committed the crime around 9pm between March 8 and 12, 2023, at No 72 Apata Street, Somolu, Lagos State.

According to Nurudeen, the offences are punishable under Sections 287(7) and 411 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2015.

The charge read in part, “That you, Kehinde Hassan and others still at large, around 9.30pm between January 8 and 12, 2023, at No 72 Apata Street, Somolu, Lagos, in the Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit stealing and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 411 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2015.

The defendant who was brought before Magistrate Nwaka pleaded guilty to the charges.

Following his plea, the prosecutor urged the court to remand him at a correctional facility and asked for a trial date.

Magistrate Nwaka remanded him pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution and adjourned the case till April 5, 2023, for facts and sentencing.

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