Daniel Monday and Oluwaseyi Akinosi, accused of belonging to an unlawful society and being in possession of a pistol, were on Monday arraigned before a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

The defendants, Mr Monday, 25; and Mr Akinosi, 26; who are facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, belonging to an unlawful society and unlawful possession of arms, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecutor, Rita Momah told the court that the defendants committed the offences at 1:30 a.m., on May 16, at Gemade Estate in Egbeda, a suburb of Lagos.

She said the defendants belonged to an unlawful society called “Buccaneers” and were causing nuisance in the area.

She said they were caught loitering in the area in the early hours of the morning and when searched by some police officers because of their suspicious movements, a cut to size pistol was found in their possession.

Ms Momah said that the defendants could, however, not give a satisfactory account of what they were doing with the gun.

According to the prosecutor, the offence contravened Sections 411, 41 and 330 (d) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

Section 330 (d) stipulates seven years imprisonment for unlawful possession of arms while Section 42 (a) provides three-year jail term for offences relating to unlawful society.

The Chief Magistrate, Adeola Adedayo, admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N300,000 each with two responsible sureties in like sum.

Mrs Adedayo held that the sureties must submit copies of their National Identification Number (NIN), and their Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) cards to the court as part of bail condition.

She also said that the two sureties must be resident within the court’s jurisdiction, be gainfully employed and provide affidavit of means and evidence of three years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

Mrs Adedayo adjourned the case until June 27 for mention.

(NAN)