The police on Tuesday arraigned two men before the Chief Magistrates’ Court in Life Camp, Abuja, for stealing church property worth N11 million.

The defendants, Michael Habu and Nuhu Dogo, are standing trial on charges bordering on joint act and stealing.

They each, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecutor, Charity Nwachukwu, told the court that a complainant from St Augustine Church in Gwarinpa had reported the matter at the Galadima Police Station on March 5.

She alleged that on the same date, the complainant discovered that church items, namely three laptops, one covering camera, one mixer, one data bundling machine, one slitter machine, and some wires, were missing from the church media room.

The items are valued at N11 million.

According to Ms Nwachukwu, the complainant had alleged that the defendants had access to the said media room, where all the missing items were kept.

She said that during the police investigation, the defendants admitted gaining access to the said media room but denied stealing the items.

The chief magistrate, Musa Jobbo, granted the defendants bail of N500,000 each, with one surety per defendant, expected to post a N500,000 bond.

He ordered that the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and  must provide a reliable means of identification.

The court consequently adjourned the case until May 4 for a hearing.

(NAN)