A 35-year-old mobile gospel preacher, Lucky David, was on Tuesday remanded at Kirikiri Prisons by an Ejigbo Magistrates’ Court 2 in Lagos for allegedly stealing a Lexus jeep valued at N1.5 million.

David, whose residential address was not disclosed, had pleaded not guilty to the charge of theft.

Magistrate Peter Nwaka did not grant the accused bail because he did not provide a residential address.

Nwaka said anyone willing to stand surety to fulfil the accused’s bail conditions should go to the Chief Registrar’s office. He adjourned the case to May 27 for mention.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Cpl.Oluwafemi Adeleye, had told the court that the accused on May 1 at 9.00 a.m. at Idimu in Ejigbo, a suburb of Lagos, stole a Lexus jeep valued at N1.5 million.

“The accused on the said date impersonated as a gospel preacher, clutching a hand bell pretended to be preaching around the residence of one Mrs Stella Ogunfatimi.

“However, the ‘fake preacher’ was only monitoring her movement. “As soon as Ogunfatimi came out of her jeep to pick something in her house, the accused entered the jeep and drove it away,” he said.

Adeleye T said the woman immediately reported the case at Idimu Police Station and some police officers went after the accused.

“The accused was, however, apprehended in a traffic jam while the jeep was recovered from him,” he said.

The prosecutor told the court that the offence contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 285 (1) provides three years imprisonment. (NAN)