An Ikeja Special Offences Court on Thursday remanded a man, Philip Jordan, for allegedly stealing exhibit from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) office.
EFCC arraigned Jordan before Justice Rahman Oshodi on a two-count charge of stealing and dealing with property subject to forfeiture without due authorisation.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Following his not guilty plea, EFCC Counsel, Ms Zeenat Atiku, requested for a trial date, informing the court of its readiness to call all its witnesses in a day and urged the court to remand the defendant in a correctional centre.
Defence counsel, Mr Kelechi Onyegbule, informed the court that he had just been briefed on the matter and orally applied for bail on behalf of the defendant.
Justice Rahman Oshodi declined the oral application and directed the defence to file a formal bail application.
The judge thereafter remanded the defendant and adjourned the case until March 3 for commencement of trial.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the defendant entered the exhibit room without due authorisation from the EFCC and dishonestly took an iPhone 14 Pro, property of the Federal Government of Nigeria, for his personal use.
According to the prosecution, the alleged offences contravene Section 32(1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004 and Section 280(1) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
