A 16-year-old boy on Wednesday appeared before an Ota Magistrates’ Court in Ogun for allegedly breaking into shops and stealing shoes, bags worth N320,000.

The police charged the defendant with three counts of burglary, stealing and malicious damage.

Prosecution counsel E.O. Adaraloye, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on February 17 at the Ewupe area in Ota, Ogun state.

Mr Adaraloye said the defendant broke into the shops belonging to Ope Iseh, Hassan Fatolu, James Olaido and Adedamola Damilola and stole shoes, bags, clothes and other valuable items.

He said that the defendant was apprehended by one of the complainants when they all planned to sleep in their shops to know who was robbing them.

The offence, he said, contravened sections 390, 411 and 451 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun, 2006, to which the defendant, however, pleaded not guilty.

Magistrate A.O. Adeyemi admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

Mrs Adeyemi ordered that the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and must be gainfully employed, then adjourned the case until March 8 for further hearing.

(NAN)