Two men, Danladi Lawal and Lawan Salihu Auwal, have been arraigned before a Lagos Magistrate’s Court over an alleged ₦63.7 million fraud involving a purported sale of shipping containers.
The defendants were brought before Chief Magistrate A. A. Adesanya on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence and stealing.
The alleged offences were said to have been committed in October 2025 at Daramola Street, Tin Can Port, Lagos.
Prosecuting counsel, Mr. Morufu Ajani Animashaun, a legal officer with the Force Criminal Investigation Department, ForceCID Annex, Alagbon, Ikoyi, told the court that the defendants allegedly conspired to defraud one Hussein Yunisa Dauda.
According to the prosecution, the defendants allegedly obtained ₦63.7 million from the complainant under the guise of selling 20-foot and 40-foot loaded shipping containers to him.
Animashaun said the complainant transferred the money to the defendants believing that he was purchasing the containers.
The prosecutor, however, alleged that the containers did not exist, describing the transaction as a fraudulent scheme designed to deceive the complainant.
He said the alleged offences contravene Sections 411, 314(1)(a) and 280(1)(b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, and are punishable under Section 287 of the same law.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following their plea, the prosecutor urged the court to remand them pending the determination of the case.
However, defence counsel, A. O. Oyeleke, informed the court that a bail application had already been filed and served on the prosecution.
He urged the court to admit the defendants to bail on liberal terms, arguing that the alleged offences are bailable.
In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Adesanya granted each defendant bail in the sum of ₦10 million, with two sureties each in like sum.
The case was adjourned to July 24, 2026, for mention.
The case was adjourned to July 24, 2026, for mention.
According to the charge, the defendants allegedly conspired to obtain ₦63.7 million from the complainant by falsely representing that they had 20-foot and 40-foot loaded shipping containers for sale, a representation the prosecution said they knew to be false.