Man accused of attempt to strangle cab driver
The police in Abuja have arraigned a man before an Abuja Magistrate Court for allegedly attempting to dispossess a taxi cab driver of his car.
Chidi Okorie was said to have connived with his friend, now at large, to commit the crime along Garki road on October 20.
The accused and his accomplice were reported to have boarded a taxi cab from AYA to prince and Princes estate, Abuja.
Along the road, the accused was alleged to have removed a long rope and, with the assistance of his friend, attempted to use it to strangle the cab driver.
Police prosecutor, Umoh Inah, a sergeant, informed the court that while the accused and his accomplice were trying to strangle their victim in order to steal his car, a team of Policemen patrolling the area arrived at the scene.
“But with quick intervention of the police patrol team, the accused was apprehended, while his accomplice disappeared into a nearby bush,” the prosecutor said.
According to the prosecutor, if not for the intervention, the taxi cab driver would have been strangled to death and his car stolen by the accused and his accomplice. The offences, he said, are punishable under sections 97 and 95 of the Penal Code.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and sought for bail which was granted by Magistrate Josephine Obannor in the sum of N200,000 with a responsible surety in like sum.
She also ruled that the surety must be a civil servant of not below grade level 08 and must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and as well swear to an affidavit to produce the accused in court on the adjourned to November 23 for hearing.
Daily Trust 1st November 2010
By Hussein Yahaya & Ibraheem A. Fatai
