Court wants DPP advice on arson charge on 2 Chinese

An Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates' Court in Lagos on Friday ordered that the case file of two Chinese charge with arson, be forwarded to Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) for advice.

The Magistrate, Mrs B. Folarin-Williams, who gave the order, also directed that the case file should be duplicated before sending it to the DPP.

Folarin- Williams adjourned the case to Aug. 8 to await the advice.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chinese, Zhen Zhen and Leo Feng, were on Wednesday arraigned for allegedly setting a hotel valued at N17.8 million ablaze.

Zhen, 47 and Feng, 41, are facing a two-count charge of arson and wilful damage.

Both men had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Olatunde Kehinde, had told the court that the defendants committed the offences in June, 2016, at Bamishele St., Allen Avenue, Ikeja.

"The accused had lodged in the hotel and were cautioned to stop smoking in the premises to avoid starting a fire.

"This had annoyed the duo, who angrily went to their room and set the hotel ablaze, raising down a huge part of the building," he said.

The prosecutor said that the offences contravened Sections 339 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The magistrate granted bail to the defendants in the sum of N2 million, with two sureties in like sum.She ordered that one of the sureties must be a naturalised citizen, who must show evidence of regular tax payment.

``The accused are to submit their passports in a bid to avoid absconding and evading trial,’’ she said.