Employees arraigned for stealing N3m from LUTH

Two workers of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, Babatunde Williams, 34, and Peter Eboye, 49, have been arraigned before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court for stealing N3m from the teaching hospital.

It was learnt that the men were part of a syndicate, which specialised in cloning the hospital receipts.

It was said that they allegedly took patients who wanted to pay hospital bills to a place where the receipts for the bills were cloned.

The value on the receipts would then be paid to the head of the group, who would in turn pay a commission to the workers for bringing the patients.

The hospital was said to have been short-changed through the fraudulent act many times.

The police told the court that some other members of the group were still at large.

The defendants were arraigned on two counts of stealing.

The charge read in part, “That you, Babatunde Williams, Peter Eboye, and others now at large, on August 29, 2013, at 10.30am at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did steal N3m property of LUTH.”

The prosecutor from the legal department of State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Nosa Uhumwangho, said the offence was contrary to Section 297 and punishable under Sections 409 and 285(6) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria 2011.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges and elected summary trial.

Their defence counsel, Saka Bello, and Spurgeon Ataene, asked for their bail in liberal terms.

The prosecutor, however, said, “I agree bail is at the discretion of the court, but we will appreciate if the conditions would be such that it will compel the attendance of the suspects in court for trial.”

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Demi Ajayi, admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties each in like sum.

“The sureties must be above 40 years, resident in Lagos, and have evidence of tax payment. One of them must be a blood relations, who can prove address identity and means of livelihood,” she added.

The matter was adjourned till January 13, 2014.

Copyright PUNCH.