The Benue State Police Command has arraigned a 26-year-old commercial motorcycle rider, Master Dooior Tartor, for raising a false alarm that his passenger stole his penis.
The suspect was brought before Makurdi Chief Magistrate Court for the crime.
Master Tartor was charged with giving false information, defamation of character, and escaping lawful police custody.
Prosecuting police officer Insp. Joshua Baga informed the court that on November 6, while the accused was conveying a passenger, Isaac Teryila of Judges Quarters, on his motorcycle, on reaching opposite B Division Police Station Makurdi, he raised a false alarm that his passenger removed his manhood.
The passenger was reportedly harassed and arrested by the mob and brought to the police station.
He said on receiving the complaint, the DPO of the station directed that the accused be taken to the Police Cottage Hospital Makurdi for medical examination, pointing out that doctors confirmed that the alarmist was medically fit as nothing had happened to his penis.
The prosecution equally informed the court that the police, having proven that the complainant accused his passenger wrongly, instead arrested him.
It added that he escaped while in police custody but was rearrested the following day.
When the case came up for mention, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges while the prosecution argued that the investigation was still in progress, asking that the accused be kept in custody while the investigation continued.
Ruling, the Chief Magistrate, Mrs Kadoon Gbasha, granted a N100,000 bail to the accused with two sureties in the same amount and adjourned the case to December 14 for continuation.
In another development, two persons have died at the Kara section of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, in a crash that occurred on Friday.
10 persons were also injured in the accident which occurred at about 08:32am.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said 14 people were involved in the accident, “in which two died instantly, leaving 10 people injured and 2 people unhurt.”
The FRSC in a statement by its spokesperson in Ogun, Florence Okpe, said the crash involved a white Mazda bus with, registration number, XV945EPE, and an unregistered Howo Sino Truck.
Okpe blamed the crash on route violation and dangerous driving.
She added that the injured victims had been taken to Famobis Hospital and the bodies had been deposited at a mortuary in Idera.