A 65-year-old man, Jimoh Akamode, of Maraba area, Ilorin, Kwara State on Friday appeared before an Ilorin Magistrates' Court charged with stealing a goat. The accused was arraigned before Magistrate Mercy Abikoye on a three-count charge of  criminal conspiracy, criminal trespass and theft, contrary to sections 97, 348 and 287 of the Penal Code, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

The Police prosecutor, Cpl. Abdullahi Sanni, told the court that the owner of the goat, Lawal Olanrewaju, caught and brought the accused person to the police station. The owner of the goat, he added, saw the accused and one other person now at large at an uncompleted building in Sabo-Oke, Ilorin killing the goat. Sanni said investigation into the case revealed that the accused and one other, now at large, actually committed the offence.

The accused, who was not represented by a lawyer, however, pleaded 'not guilty' to the charge. But the prosecutor objected to his bail on the grounds that investigation was still on to apprehend his alleged accomplice and that releasing him would tamper with investigation. Abikoye, however, granted him bail in the sum of N50,000 with a reliable surety. She adjourned the case till March 20 for definite hearing.