This is not a good time for two drivers, Onoja Lawrence, a resident of 2, Joseph Street, Oshodi and Oluwalogbon Oluwafemi of Apapa road, Lagos. The duo are currently undergoing trial Justice Nicholas Oweibo of Federal High Court, Lagos.
The two were allegedly arrested on September 23, 2019 while driving a bullion van marked MUS-574-XW and an escort pickup van marked APP-319XS. They are being tried on three count-charge bordering on conspiracy to smuggle the banned rice.
The offences which contravener sections 3(1) and 166 of the Customs and Excise (Special Penal and Other Provisions Act) Cap. C47, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under section 3(3) of the same Act.
The suspects pleaded not guilty to the charge and the court granted their bail on some terms and conditions.
At the resumed hearing of the charge against the two drivers on Tuesday, the Nigerian Customs Services’ officer who identified himself as Marina Sanusi, informed the court that the suspects were arrested on September 23, 2019, at the Winners’ axis of Sango-Owode-Idiroko, following an intelligence received by his team.
Sanusi in his testimony before the court said: “the two defendants were arrested with a bullion van. We tried stopping them but they refused to stop until we pursued them to Winners side of Owode-Idiroko road, where the escort Hilux van was stopped and it has 13 bags of the parboil foreign rice. And we later pursue the bullion van and when they stopped, they refused to open it for check.
“After sometimes of argument, they opened the bullion van and we discovered that there were some monies mixed with the bags of foreign rice. We then turned them back to our check point and called pur Officer-In-Charge, Mr. Amacha, who directed us to take the bullion van to where it was taken the monies to, while the rice was taken to Federal Operation Unit (FUO) Ikeja, Lagos, where the rice was warehoused”.
During cross-examination by Chukwuma Ezeale, counsel to the defendants, Sanusi also told the court that the two drivers were arrested alongside five policemen and that he handed over the bullion van, hilux escort van to those at FOU, Ikeja.
The matter has been adjourned till February 13 for the defendants to open their defense on the charge.
