Police have arrested 31-year-old Temitope Adeyemi allegedly for eating at a local canteen without paying.
Adeyemi had allegedly ordered for noodles worth N1000 at the food vendor’s stand at the College of Medicine, Idi-Araba, Lagos, and attempted to flee from there when he had not paid for the food.
The owner of the restaurant, Olumbo Labake, was said to have raised an alarm and the suspect was arrested. On interrogation, he was said to have admitted he didn’t have any money on him, but agreed to deposit his mobile telephone.
A witness said that the arrangement did not go down well with the owner, who promptly invited the police.
Investigation conducted by the police revealed that the suspect had allegedly stolen the phone before the incident occurred. City News understood he admitted he had planned to sell the telephone and use the proceeds to buy food but couldn’t.
A police source at the Isolo Division, Lagos, where the matter was reported said that the suspect did not inform the food vendor that he had no money on him before ordering for food.
Based on the strength of the investigation, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, directed that the suspect be charged to court and the matter was yesterday brought before an Isolo chief magistrate’s court.
Adeyemi was charged with stealing prepared noodles, and being in possession of a phone suspected to be stolen.
However, when there was doubt on the first charge, the prosecutor, Mr Oje Uagbale, asked the court to strike out the first count of eating Indomie noodles without paying, while the second count of being in possession of suspected stolen phone was sustained.
The suspect, however, pleaded not guilty.
The presiding magistrate, Mr O.A. Ogbe, granted him bail in the sum of N100,000 with one surety in like sum. Adeyemi was then remanded in prison custody pending when he will perfect his bail condition and the matter was adjourned till October 9, 2017.
