LAGOS OCTOBER 31ST (NEWSRANGERS)-A man, Gasper Oladipo Emmanuel, has landed in trouble after he was arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Ogba, Lagos, for allegedly standing as surety for a woman who absconded in a case involving N21 million and seven vehicles.
The defendant was charged before the court by the Commissioner of Police following his alleged failure to produce the suspect he stood surety for at the Area ‘F’ Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja.
The matter was heard before Magistrate Mr. L.A. Owolabi, with Superintendent of Police, SP Josephine Ihkayere, prosecuting.
According to the charge sheet filed against him, Gasper Oladipo Emmanuel had on the 19th day of May, 2026, at Area ‘F’ Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, in the Lagos Magisterial District, applied and stood surety for one Theresa Orobosa Ewere in a case of conspiracy, forgery and stealing.
Police said the woman was granted bail at the Area ‘F’ Command after the surety executed a bail bond, undertaking to produce her on each date of adjournment until the case against her is finally disposed of.
The charge stated that the suspect, Theresa Orobosa Ewere, has since absconded and failed to show up for investigation and prosecution, thereby breaching the bail conditions entered into by her surety.
Following her disappearance, the police invoked the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws of Lagos State to hold the surety accountable.
Count one of the charge reads that the surety should show cause why he should not forfeit to the Lagos State Government the sum of N21,000,000.00 (Twenty-one Million Naira) only and 7 vehicles which he undertook to pay if he fails to produce the said suspect.
The offence, according to the police, is in line with Section 179/180 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015, which deals with forfeiture of bail bond by a surety who fails to produce a suspect.
When the charge was read to him, the defendant pleaded not guilty.
Following his not guilty plea, his counsel applied for bail, assuring the court that he would not jump bail and would ensure the attendance of the absconded suspect if given more time.
The prosecutor, SP Josephine Ihkayere, did not oppose bail but asked the court to impose stringent conditions.
In his ruling, Magistrate Mr. L.A. Owolabi granted the defendant bail with two sureties who must show evidence of means of livelihood and evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
The Magistrate ordered that he be remanded at the Correctional Center at Kirikiri Town pending the perfection of his bail conditions.
The case was investigated by the Area ‘F’ Command, Ikeja, Lagos, with Inspector Amaka Lemchi as the Investigating Police Officer (IPO).
The matter, which is filed under Charge No. X/8/88/26, was brought before the court by the Commissioner of Police through the District Prosecutor’s Office, Ogba, under the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Lagos State Ministry of Justice.
Police authorities at Area ‘F’ Command said the move to charge the surety became necessary after several efforts to get him to produce the suspect failed.
The Command warned members of the public to be cautious when standing as surety for suspects in criminal cases, noting that a surety has a legal duty to ensure that the suspect attends police investigation and court proceedings until the case is finally disposed of.
The court is expected to determine whether the surety will forfeit the N21 million and seven vehicles to the Lagos State Government over his inability to produce the absconded woman.
The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a Court of competent jurisdiction.
PM EXPRESS
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