Man in court for defrauding scamming sex worker

According to reports, the 22-year-old snatched the sex worker's cell phones worth N266,000 in addition to refusing to pay for her services.

Lawal of Jabi Daki-biyu, Abuja, was accused of cheating and stealing by the police.

The complainant, Ms. Charity Joseph of Jabi Masalachi, Abuja, reported the incident at Life Camp Police Station on January 30 at 3:50 p.m., according to the prosecution's attorney, Mr. Stanley Nwafoaku, who testified in court.

Nwafoaku claimed that the defendant solicited the complainant, a commercial sex worker, for her services on January 25 about midnight.

According to him, the defendant and the complainant agreed that the defendant would pay N10,000 for one night at the White House Hotel Jabi Daki-biyu, Abuja.

The defense attorney claimed that the complainant's iPhone, worth N266,000, was stolen by the defendant.

Nwafoaku further informed the court that the defendant failed to pay the N10,000 as stipulated and that all attempts to retrieve the phones failed after Lawal was taken into custody.

According to him, the defendant acknowledged selling the phones for N35,000 to a man named Abba who fled to Katsina State.
According to Nwafoaku, the offense violated sections 322 and 288 of the penal code.

But the accused entered a not guilty plea to the accusation.

The defendants' defense attorney, Charity Nwosu, requested bail on the most lenient terms possible.

Nwosu submitted the application citing provisions 158 of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and sections 36 of the 1999 Constitution, pledging that the defendant wouldn't skip bail if it were approved.

However, the defense attorney's request for bail was not opposed by the prosecution attorney.

The offender was granted bail in the amount of N150,000 and one surety in the same amount by Judge Muhammed Wakili.

Wakili mandated that the surety present a printout of their BVN, a recent passport photo, and a valid ID that the court registrar must confirm.

The judge postponed the hearing on the case until March 1.