A 45-year-old woman, Rayinat Bakare, was on Wednesday remanded in a correctional centre by a Chief Magistrate Court in Ikorodu for allegedly stealing a nine-year-old girl.
Bakare, whose address was not provided, is charged with felony to wit child stealing.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs A. B. Olagbegi-Adelabu, who did not take the plea of Bakare, adjourned the case until May 16, for legal advice from the office of the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Lagos State Prosecuting counsel, Mrs. Olawunmi Osibanjo, had earlier told the court that suspect committed the offence on March 14.
According to the prosecutor, said the defendant held the hand of the nine-year-old girl while walking on the road and the girl was crying unabated.
He further stated that people who saw the girl crying then asked her if the woman was her mother and she said no.
Osibanjo disclosed that the development brought the attention of the crowd who started questioning the defendant.
“The mother of the girl eventually appeared and told the crowd that she had never come across the defendant in her entire life,” the prosecutor stated.
The prosecutor said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 277 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, noting that the defendant is liable to 14 years in prison if found guilty of the offence.
