Daily Trust - the online edition

Two middle-aged mechanical engineers were on Wednesday arraigned before an Abuja magistrate’s court for allegedly conspiring to cheat a man of the engine of his vehicle and also escaping with the entire vehicle.

The accused persons, Afolabi Idowu and Adeleke Talabi were charged with acting jointly to steal the engine of a jeep belonging to one   Taiye Ademola of Victory Motors in Wuse Zone 1, Abuja.

The accused persons were equally alleged to have conspired to sell the vehicle to an unknown person without the owner’s consent.

Prosecutor Bulus Samuel informed the court that on March 15, Prince Taiye Ademola reported the two accused persons to the police that he entrusted his Isuzu Trooper Jeep to both accused persons for repairs and was charged the sum of N200, 000 for the work.

"After collecting the money, one of the accused persons did not render the services but conspired with the second accused to steal the original engine of the jeep, valued at N300, 000," the prosecutor narrated.

He further stated that when the complainant observed that his engine was missing, he was told that the original engine of the vehicle had been sold in Lagos for N100, 000 without his consent.

"Jeep car, original engine and all the money paid for the mechanics services are no where to be found," he added.

Both accused persons denied the charges in court and Magistrate Ahmed Ndajuwo granted each of them bail in the sum of N100, 000 with two reasonable and reliable sureties in like-sum.

"Each of the sureties must be resident within the jurisdiction of the court," he ordered and adjourned the case to May 19 for hearing.