Uzuokwu was brought before Magistrate Bambo Oduoke but the matter could not go on as he had no lawyer to represent him.
The magistrate therefore ordered the remand of the defendant in Kirikiri correctional centre pending the time he gets a defense counsel
The matter was adjourned till April 27.
The PUNCH reports that 18-year-old Solomon allegedly called the emergency line of the Fire Service on Friday, April 14, 2023 at 5:35pm from Harmony Estate in the Ajah area of the state and reported a fire emergency within the estate leading to the activation of emergency processes and eventual dispatch of the fire trucks from Lekki Phase II Fire Service Station.
The Deputy Director, Public Affairs of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Ololade Agboola, who confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday night said, “On arrival, it was discovered that there was no fire incident in the estate. Because of the frequency of such calls in the past, the estate security helped in the investigation which led to the arrest of the notorious false caller.
She further disclosed in the statement that the offence was punishable under the Lagos State Fire Service Law and Command and Control Centre Law 2013.
Uzuokwu, however, risks a three-year jail term if found guilty of the offences preferred against him.
The law, under Prohibition of Hoax Calls, states that, ” No person shall, unless for the purpose of informing the Centre of the occurrence of any of the events stipulated under section 4(a) of this Law, call the emergency telephone numbers of the Centre.”
With respect to the penalty, the Law stipulated that, “Any person who knowingly gives or causes to be given a false alarm to a person acting on behalf of the Centre, or who uses emergency telephone lines in any way other than those stipulated in section 10, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of five hundred thousand Naira {500,000.00) or to imprisonment for a term of three (3) years or in addition to any sentence imposed by virtue of this Section, the Court may order the offender to perform community service for such period as the Court may determine.”
