Police clear actress Lizzy Anjorin of gold theft allegation
The Lagos State Police Command has confirmed that there is no evidence to support the accusation of theft against Nollywood actress, Lizzy Anjorin-Lawal, who was allegedly involved in a gold theft incident at the Oba Akintoye Market in the Lagos Island area of the state.
In a recent interview with Punch, the spokesperson for the state police command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, clarified that during the investigation, it was determined that the video footage showing individuals, including traders, accusing Anjorin-Lawal of theft was a result of a factual error.
Hundeyin explained, “There was no theft involved from the start. Our investigation uncovered that the seller provided incorrect account details. The person was supposed to provide 10 digits, but only one digit was mistakenly given, leading to the transfer to the wrong account.
But when it turned out that it was a mistake of facts and that they called her a thief in error, Lizzy (Anjorin-Lawal) took the assault meted out against her up and after the suspects were arrested and the case had gone to court, for reasons best known to her, she said she was no longer interested in the case and the case was withdrawn.”
Speaking further, Hundeyin said the people who accused Anjorin-Lawal of stealing, while writing their statements at the police station, confirmed that they were the ones who made the mistake, as it was the seller that gave her the wrong account details.
“Lizzy Anjorin-Lawal transferred what she was supposed to transfer, which was about N90,000, into the wrong account that she was given and there was a receipt; when it was becoming too hot, she again transferred money to the correct account number they gave her.
So, she did a double transfer just to avoid trouble, even though the mistake was not hers. So, I am confirming that the police investigation revealed that there was no stealing. Lizzy Anjorin-Lawal was not culpable of stealing as she did not engage in stealing according to our investigation” he said
The mother of one visited the popular market in February of this year to buy some items. However, her visit took a turn for the worse when she was accused of theft. A video surfaced showing her being harassed and assaulted by several traders, which quickly went viral on social media. As a result, six traders were arrested and subsequently arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Court in Lagos Island Local Government on charges of assault and blackmail for their actions against Anjorin-Lawal during her shopping trip for gold.
The individuals implicated in the case were identified as Qudus Jokogbola, Suru Olawale, Edu Shakirat, Fausat Mohammed, Kafayat Ahmed, and Opere Simiat Morenike. Additionally, two other suspects remained at large. During the trial, all six pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them. The court, recognizing their potential risk to society, granted them bail amounts of N200,000 each, with a surety for each of the bail conditions.
Upon completing their bail conditions, they were released from the Nigerian Correctional Services.