A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Yaba Area of Lagos State has ordered the remand of two teenagers, Farouk Mohammed and Kasali Jamiu, charged with the alleged murder of a Redeemed Christian Church of God Pastor, Babatunde Dada.
Magistrate Linda Balogun ordered the remand of the minor, 16-year-old Mohammed at Special Correctional Centres for Boys in Oregun while 19-year-old Jamiu was remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Center, pending the legal advice from Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).
The duo were charged alongside two others Mumuni Toheeb, 21 and Mubarak Soliu, 20 both of whom allegedly received a Spark S Techno Phone belonging to the 46-year-old deceased and valued at N60,000.
The four defendants are facing three charges bordering on conspiracy, murder, and receiving of a stolen item, preferred against them by the Police.
The Prosecuting lawyer with the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti, Mr Julio Hodonu, told the court that the defendants allegedly committed the offences on December 2, 2021, at Road 13, 6th Avenue Festac Town, in Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos State, where the deceased was the admin/account officer.
Dada was stabbed to death inside the church by two teenagers who visited the church the Sunday before the incident for the first time and had given ‘their lives to Christ’.
They also dispossessed him of his personal belongings.
The prosecutor also said that Farouk and Jamiu conspired amongst themselves and unlawfully killed Babatunde Dada, by stabbing and clubbing him to death with a bottle and wood.
According to the prosecutor, the offence is punishable under sections 411, 223 & 328(1) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2015.
He asked the court to order the remand of the suspects for the first 30 days pending the DPP’s advice.
Following his remand application, counsel to the first defendant, Oyekanmi Isijola, raised an objection that the first defendant is a minor and should not be remanded in prison but a juvenile centre.
Magistrate Balogun agreed and ordered that the first defendant should be remanded at the Special Correctional Centres for Boys, Oregun, and the second defendant Ikoyi Prison respectively.
Meanwhile, the Magistrate granted Mumuni Toheeb and Mubarak Soliu bail in the sum of N200,000 each with two sureties each in like sum.
She said that the sureties must show proof of employment, proof of source of income, show evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State government, and have their addresses verified.
The case was adjourned till February 14, 2022, for DPP’s advice.
Background
The teenagers met with the head pastor after the church service and told him that they were stranded and needed a place to stay.
The deceased was then assigned to them to take care of their welfare and they were allowed to stay within the church premises.
According to the Punch newspaper, a family member, who is also a security expert, Abolarinwa Olatunbosun, said the deceased was killed after withdrawing money from a bank.
He said;
The pastor went to a bank to withdraw some money and went to rest on the first floor of the church. Two persons said to be new converts went to meet him upstairs, broke his head, and killed him.
