National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Chairman, Koko Zaria, (Ganiyu Oyedepo), has been remanded in prison custody by a Lagos Chief Magistrate Court for allegedly assaulting Nollywood actor, Alhaji Ade Adele, popularly known as Baba Lawori.
Oyedepo was arraigned on Wednesday on charges of conspiracy, assault occasioning harm, and conduct likely to cause breach of public peace.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him by the operatives of the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID).
The prosecutor, Morufu Animashaun, a legal officer in the legal department of FCIID, Alagbon, in a charge marked B/40/2024, told the court that the defendant committed the offences on June 5, 2024, at Idimu, by conspiring with some of his ‘boys’ to assault Adele.
He said in the course of the assault, Oyedepo’s boys, injured Adele in the head with a bottle.
He told the court that the offences committed by the defendant, contravened sections 411; 173 and 168 (l)(d) of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State and punishable under section 168 (2) of the same laws.
The charges read; “That you Ganiyu Oyedepo on or about the June 25, 2024 at Idimu, Lagos in the Lagos Magisterial District, Lagos conspired to commit Felony wit: Assault Occasioning Harm and committed an Offence contrary to Section 411 of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State.”
“That you Oyedepo on the said date unlawfully procured one of your boys (now at large) who unlawfully broke bottle and inflicted injuries on the head of one Alhaji Ade Adele and committed an Offence contrary to Section 173 of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State 2015.”
“That you Oyedepo conducted yourself in a manner likely to cause breach of peace when you threatened and procured one of your boys (now at large) to break bottle on the head of Adele and committed an Offence contrary to Section 168 (l)(d) of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State 2015 and punishable under Section 168 (2) of thé same Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos state 2015.”
But, Oyedepo (Koko Zaria) denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His lawyers, S. Bello with S. O. Ajetomobi, moved for bail application, saying the charge against their client is a bailable one. They urged the court to grant him bail in the most liberal terms.
Chief Magistrate Sonuga after hearing counsels’ submissions granted Oyedepo bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum.
The sureties, according to the Chief Magistrate, must be of unquestionable character, with evidence of means of livelihood and must be residing within the court’s jurisdiction.
The Chief Magistrate also ordered the sureties to present to court evidence of three years tax, and have their addresses verified.
Chief Magistrate Sonuga, while adjourning the matter to October 29, for mention, however, remanded the defendant in the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) custody, pending the perfection of the bail terms.
