A taxi driver, Nuhu Stephen, has told an FCT High Court in Kubwa, Abuja, how his neighbour, Faisal Saliu, choked him and stole his car.
Stephen said this while being led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Adama Musa.
Saliu, alongside Lawal Mohammed and Abdulrahaman Datti, were arraigned on charges bordering on armed robbery and criminal conspiracy.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Stephen told the court that Saliu invited him to eat at a restaurant around his house in Apo Resettlement on June 21, 2022.
He said, “Saliu was in the company of his younger brother. While we ate, he asked how much I would charge to pick up his sister from the motor park in Mararaba who came in from Kaduna State.
“I told him I did not work on Sundays, but he pleaded and I agreed. When we got to Mararaba, we met a lady without any luggage.
”We got back to Apo Resettlement at midnight. Saliu begged me to allow him to spend the night in my place because it was too late for him to go back to his older brother’s house.
“I refused and offered to help him wake his brother up. When I tried to open my door, Saliu held me in a choke-hold using his elbows and I lost consciousness.”
The witness said when he regained consciousness, he saw himself lying by his doorstep, with his car and phone stolen.
The defence counsel, Majid Balogun, asked the witness how long he had known Saliu and the exact time he regained consciousness.
Justice Asmau Akanbi-Yusuf adjourned the case to March 24. (NAN)
