Three sentenced 6 months in prison for forceful entry

A Lagos magistrate’s court sitting at Igbosere, has sentenced three men, Orimolade Oteshade, Babatunde Cole and Monsuru Lateef, to six months imprisonment with hard labour for forcible entry on land.
On the alternative, Magistrate O. Martins ordered that they pay N10,000 and N15,000 fines each for forcible entry and breach of peace.

They are to pay the total of N75, 000, or spend six months in prison, with Cole and Lateef serving their sentences with hard labour.
However, the magistrate discharged them of the offences of thuggery, unlawful assault and stealing.
Martins held: “The three defendants are hereby acquitted of counts one, three and four.”
The convicts were arraigned by the police in 2014 on a three-count charge of conspiracy, forcible entry on land owned by Equinox Nigeria Ltd in Alasia Village, Ajah in Eti-Osa Local Government Area and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace.

The charge was substituted on June 11, 2014 with five counts of conspiracy to commit a felony to wit: thuggery, forcible entry, unlawful assault, stealing and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.
According to prosecuting counsel, Mr. Z. Arekhandia, “the trio forcibly entered land allocated to Equinox Nig Ltd, who they knew to be the actual owner of the land and sold part of same.”