CITIZENS COMPASS — A Magistrate Court sitting in Yaba area of Lagos, has arraigned a landlord, Justin Anyasodo 

for damaging some property valued at N5.5 million belonging to his tenant, 

Emeka Unateze. 

The landlord was also arraigned for forcefully gaining entry into the apartment of the tenant. 

Both live in the Ishashi area of the State. 

The tenant is also claiming compensation from the landlord for damaging his property worth N5.5m. 

Unateze claimed that the property included a television set,  refrigerator,freezer, sets of chairs and boxes containing jewellery valued at N5.5m. 

Anyasodo was arraigned by the police before Magistrate O.Y. Adefope sat before a Yaba Magistrate’s Court on four counts of malicious damage to property, forgery, and theft on Tuesday.

The prosecutor, Haruna Magaji, told the court that the defendant committed the offences because he was having a rent dispute with his client, Unateze.

Haruna also revealed that the defendant forged a court document claiming he was authorised to enter and destroy Unateze’s property worth N5.5m.

He further said the defendant threw the remaining property into the bush and locked the tenant and his family outside under the pretext that they were executing a court order claiming that after consulting, it was discovered that the purported court order did not exist.

He stated that the defendant stole one television set, one fridge, one fridge and a set of chairs and boxes containing jewellery valued at N5.5m.

According to him, the defendant committed the offence in March 2021, while Unataze was still his tenant and the offences contravened Sections 411, 339, 280, and 365 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.

The charges read in part, “That you, Justin Anyasodo and others now at large, sometime in March 2021 in Lagos, within the Lagos Magisterial District did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit malicious damage and forgery and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 411 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015.

“That you, Justin Anyasodo and others now at large, on the same date, time and place, and in the aforementioned magisterial district, did enter the house of one Emeka Unateze and maliciously damaged his properties and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable by Section 339 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

“That you, Justin Anyasodo and others now at large, on the same date, time and place, and in the aforementioned magisterial district, did steal one television set, one fridge, one freezer, sets of chairs and boxes containing jewellery valued at N5.5m which belong to one Emeka Unateze and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.”

The charges were read to the defendant but he pleaded not guilty to them.

Following his not-guilty plea, Adefope admitted him to bail in the sum of N2 million with two responsible sureties.

The case was adjourned till December 15, 2023 for trial.