Court strikes out criminal charge against site manager

An Upper Area Court in Kubwa, FCT, on Tuesday, struck out a case of mischief filed against a 32-year-old site manager, Sule Onagu, for lack of diligent prosecution.

The police charged Onagu, who resides in Katampe extension, Abuja, on March 21, with criminal trespass and mischief.

The defendant had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Judge, Garba Gambo, struck out the matter and discharged Onagu, following the absence of the nominal complainant, Babatunde Suleiman.

Gambo said the nominal complainant and prosecution counsel, Chinedu Ogada, were absent without a message to give reasons for it.

Earlier, the prosecution counsel told the court that the complainant reported the matter at the Divisional Police Headquarters, Dawaki, on March 16.

Ogada alleged that Onagu trespassed into the complainant’s block industry to cook food on March 14.

He said Onagu cooked where the complainant kept his pallets (plastic flat transport structure) and block machine and as a result, 215 pallets got burnt.

The prosecution counsel said the burnt pallets were worth N1.1 million adding that the offence contravened the provisions of sections 348 and 339 of the Penal Code.