Samuel Meyiwa, a 26-year-old man, stood before the Yaba Magistrate’s Court, facing charges of misappropriating his employer’s funds for gambling activities. The Lagos State Police Command presented one count of theft against Meyiwa during the arraignment on Thursday, presided over by Magistrate A.O. Salawu.
According to information disclosed in court, Meyiwa had been employed as a truck driver for Freedom Pure Water Company in Bariga since March, where he sold sachet water.
However, it was revealed that he had been diverting a portion of the proceeds from his daily sales to gamble at an undisclosed gambling center, unbeknownst to his employer.
According to the Punch, in a specific incident in October, Meyiwa reportedly sold sachet water amounting to N88,000 but failed to remit the money.
Instead, he later informed his boss that customers owed him, a deceptive practice that gradually developed into a recurring pattern, as stated by the complainant.
Nonetheless, in November, Meyiwa followed his regular routine, delivering sachet water valued at N300,000. Despite successfully supplying the goods, he gambled away the proceeds. Unable to contact him through various channels, he was eventually spotted working at another company and apprehended by the police.
Oriabure informed the court that Meyiwa allegedly committed the crime from March to November 2023 at Okusanya Street, situated off Adebayo Road in Bariga. He emphasized that this act violated Section 287 (7) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, in 2015.
The charge read, “That you Samuel Meyiwa, sometime March to November 2023 at Bariga in the Yaba Magisterial District did steal the sum of three hundred thousand naira cash from Freedom Pure Water Company situated at No 10 NG Okusanya street off Adebayo Road, Bariga, where you were employed as a driver and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 287 (7) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2015.”
The accused entered a plea of innocence in response to the single charge filed against him. Subsequent to his plea, the magistrate released him on bail, setting the amount at N100,000 and requiring two reliable sureties to provide an equivalent sum.
Furthermore, she scheduled the trial for January 25, 2024, and adjourned the case.