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According to Punch, just like a scene from a Nollywood movie, a drama played out at the Ikeja Magistrate's Court, Lagos State, on Monday as the embattled hip hop artiste, Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy, was arraigned. The suspect was brought into the courtroom by the Investigating Police Officer, Sergeant Olagunju Olatunji, when the court was about to sit and was whisked away in a sport utility vehicle immediately after his arraignment.
He swiftly entered into the waiting SUV, Lexus 300 RX with number plate, AAA 473 DB, in company with some policemen in mufti and was escorted from the court premises to an unidentified location. The 26 year old singer was dressed in jeans and shirt, wearing jewellery and glasses. Burna Boy, who was arrested for alleged involvement in the robbery of his colleague, Abiye Jumbo, popularly called Mr. 2 kay, was arraigned on two counts of“accessory to after fact and failing to give information to the police on the attack.
He had been declared wanted by the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, on November 20, but he later appeared at the command on Friday. He was promptly detained in the custody of the Special Anti Robbery Squad in Ikeja. Four suspects, including Burna Boy's road manager, Joel Kantiok, had been paraded for allegedly robbing Mr. 2Kay on October 22 in his room at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, shortly after Buckwyld N Breathless concert held in the facility.
During the parade, the suspects, except Kantiok, confessed to have carried out the attack on the orders of Burna Boy. The other four suspects Balogun Ademola, Obina Igwe, Tunmise Omotore and Joel Kantiok had been charged with robbery and remanded in custody before Burna Boy was arrested. The artiste pleaded not guilty to the two counts bordering on aiding of an offence preferred against him by the police when he was brought on Monday before a magistrate, Mrs . B .O . Osunsanmi, who held brief for Mrs . Y .O . Aje Afunwa.
The charges read, “That you , Damini Ogulu, and others now at large , on the 24 th day of October, 2017, around 11 .20 hrs (11 .20 am ), at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos , in the Lagos Magisterial District , did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit ; accessory after the fact , thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria , 2015.
"That you, Damini Ogulu, and others now at large, on the same date, time and place, in the aforementioned magisterial district, did have information about the attack on one Abiye Jumbo, aka Mr. 2kay, at Room 847 of the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, and did not disclose the said attack information to the security agent (sic), thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 415 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria , 2015”
His counsel, Bright Idahosa, prayed the court that he be granted bail in liberal terms. While the police prosecutor, Inspector N . Peter, welcomed the request a lawyer, Dan Whisky, who held brief for Grafton Entertainment, the promoter of Mr. 2 kay, expressed reservation about the bail application , saying the sister case, involving the other remanded accomplices would come up on December 29. One Tayo Reju held a watching brief for Eko Hotel and Suites.
Osunsanmi granted the defendant bail in the sum of N 100,000 with two sureties in like sum and adjourned the case till December 29. However, as against the tradition of keeping defendants on the court premises pending when bail conditions would be perfected, Burna Boy was immediately taken away in the SUV by the police.
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