Two friends have been arraigned before a Karu Upper Area Court in Abuja for allegedly attempting to escape from police custody.
Usman Mustapha, 22, and Isah Salihu, 18, who both reside in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, were charged with criminal conspiracy, mischief and attempt to commit an offence.
The prosecution counsel, Olanrewaju Osho, told the court that the defendants committed the offence on Saturday, September 16. 2023.
According to Osho, the accused broke the locks to their cell at the Karu Police Station while in custody for investigation. He said that that Usman and Isah caused damage of N50,000.
The prosecutor said the offence contravened the provisions of sections 97(2), 327 and 95 of the Penal Code. The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Justice Malam Yusuf Adamu admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N500,000 each with one surety who must live within the court’s jurisdiction.
Adamu ordered that the surety must deposit his house title documents and National I.D. with the court registry. He adjourned the case until November 2.
In similar news…
A Mississippi man has been jailed for 40 years for breaking out of a correctional facility just a few months to his release for a 7-year prison sentence.
21-year-old Shunekndrick Huffman, fled Central Mississippi Correctional Facility on 25 August, 2022, broke into a nearby home and held two people at gunpoint, according to authorities.
He had nearly finished a seven-year sentence for aggravated assault and was expected to be released in December. Huffman was said to have stolen a car from one of the hostages and fled on foot after crashing it. He was later found hiding in a trash can at Mississippi State Hospital in Whitfield two miles from the prison.
The convict pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping on Monday and according to Rankin County district attorney Bubba Bramlett, a judge gave Huffman 40 years in state prison. The ill-advised prison break means he could be in his 60s before he can walk free.
