Godwin Ochai, a 25-year-old businessman, was detained in a Makurdi Magistrates Court on Thursday for suspected criminal conspiracy and robbery.
Mr Victor Kor, the Magistrate, did not accept the defendant’s plea due to a lack of jurisdiction.
He ordered that the defendant be detained in custody at the Makurdi Correctional Centre and postponed the matter to Feb. 21, for further proceedings.
Sgt. Ato Godwin, the Police Prosecutor, informed the court that the matter was reported to Igumale Police Station on January 2 by one John Ogbu and Adai Teddy, both of Agila, Ado Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
According to Ato, the complainants stated that they were on different motorbikes when they were assaulted by the defendant and two others who remained at large.
He said the defendant attacked them with cutlass, beat them and forcefully collected their two motorcycles valued at N430,000, two handsets valued at N37,000, animal feeds, some holy communion materials and N5,000 cash.
Ato added that as a result of the beating, the complainants sustained injuries on their bodies.
“During police investigation the defendant who hailed from Apa-Agila, Ado LGA, was arrested and confessed to the crime.
“Two motorcycles were recovered from him, while one Attah Aboh and Seke surname unknown are still at large,” he said.
The prosecutor said an investigation into the matter was on-going and prayed the court for another date for mention.
He said the offence contravened section 6(b) and (1)(2)(a)(b) of the Robbery and Firearms Special Provision Act 2004.