A Magistrate Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State has granted N20,000 bail to an 86-year-old man, identified as Buhari Musa, who was arraigned on a one-count charge bordering on food theft to the tune of N10,000.
The court further includes in the bail condition that the defendant, who resides in Itanla area of Ado-Ekiti must provide one surety residing in Ekiti Metropolis.
The Chief Magistrate, Adedayo Oyebanji, granted Buhari bail after pleading not guilty to the one-count charges filed against him by the Ekiti Police Command.
After granting the convict bail, the judge, meanwhile, adjourned the case to July 8, 2021, for continuation of trial to determine the legality of the charges leveled against Buhari.
The police arraigned Buhari for allegedly stealing N10,000 worth of maize from a farm in Ado-Ekiti, capital of the state, belonging to one Saliu Mustapha.
Earlier during the hearing, the prosecutor, Insp. Johnson Okunade, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on June 13 at 7.00 a.m. at Omisanjana area of Ado-Ekiti.
Okunade explained that the defendant was caught with the stolen maize on the complainant’s farm. He added that the alleged offence contravened Section 390(9) of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2012.
The prosecutor asked the court for a date for the commencement of trial to enable him to assemble witnesses, while the counsel to the defendant, Lai Obisesan, urged the court to grant his client bail, promising that he would not jump bail.
