One Nwani Uchennary Okoro, a prosecution witness, recently testified in the trial involving one Glabril Osita Alufuo, who was accused of theft before Magistrate Tabally of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court.
He told the court that he recognized the accused person and could remember what happened on 28 August 2014.
He is an apprentice to PW1 Joseph Ezere and, on the day in question, the accused came to the complainant’s shop and asked Ezere to lend him some money, because he wanted to buy pampers and send them to Nigeria.
The complainant gave the accused D40,000 in his presence, and the accused promised to pay in Naira equivalent to 160,000 Naira, adding that, up to date, the accused did not pay the said money.
Okoro said on 8 September 2014, the accused came again and said he did not finish the supply of the pampers and needed more money to complete the said supply.
The complainant gave a total of D76,000 in two installments the same day, in his presence, and the accused promised to pay the said money in the customer’s account in Nigeria, to which he did not make any payment.
The witness further told the court that on 10 September 2014, the accused came back to the complainant and collected D100,000 in two installments on the same day, saying that he was going to buy a Golf car and other materials such as photocopy machine and laptops, which the accused never bought.
On 13 September 2014, he added, the accused came again and collected D38,154 to buy forty cartons of condoms, which he never bought neither did he return the money to the complainant.
According to him, on 19 September 2014, the accused came again and collected D100,000 saying that he wanted to buy Tela soap, which he never did, neither did he retun the money to the complainant.
On 22 September 2014, he continued, the accused came and collected D80, 000 in two installments meant for handing over of goods, adding that, on that evening, the accused again collected D75,000 saying that he was going to buy oxining of gas and that one of his uncles is working at the Nigerian State House, which he never did, neither did he return the money to the complainant.
He adduced that on 13 September 2014, the accused collected D27,325 for the same purpose of buying oxining gas, which he never did, neither did he return the money to the complainant.
On 26 September 2014, he went on, the accused came again and collected D130,500 for gas in Nigeria, which he never did, neither did he return the money.
He said he was the one who counted the money, and gave it to the accused.
He said on 1 October 2014, the accused came to the shop with plastic plates and told the complainant to give him D23,600 for him to buy the plates, and that within two days he would bring the money, which he never did, neither did he return the money to the complainant.
On 2 October 2014, Mr Okoro said, the accused collected D10,000 to send it to his uncle in Dakar, which he never did, neither did he return the money to the complainant.
He revealed that there were other goods which the accused took from the complainant amounting to D41,490, which was never paid for.
The accused also collected D16,800 to buy $400 for the complainant out of the said money, and he sent only $200, in Naira 276 and the remaining balance of D16,376, which he never brought back to the complainant.
The case was adjourned to 4 May 2015.
