The Ebutte-Ero Division of the Lagos State Police Command arrested an 18-year-old Ivory Coast sales girl, Kehinde Aroyi, for allegedly conspiring with two others still at large to poison the food they prepared for their employer, Mrs Abiola Olutosin.
The plan was allegedly to kill her and steal her foreign currency, which included 978RMB China currency, 233 dollars, and 5750 Rupia Indonesia currency, totaling N546,393.00.
Jamiu Shittabay, a native doctor based in Idumota’s Gorodom market, was also arrested alongside the salesgirl; he allegedly prepared the poison the salesgirl intended to place in their employer’s food.
The alleged plan to poison the complainant backfired, according to the police, because one of the sales girls revealed the evil plan to her employer, who allegedly caught them with the poison and collected it from them.
Following the development, Olutosin reported the incident to the Divisional Police Officer, DPO in charge of Ebute-Ero Division, CSP Ademola Amodu who directed his men to arrest the suspects and the police succeeded in arresting the native doctor and Aroyi while others managed to escape.
During the investigation, the police said the native doctor allegedly confessed to the crime.
He said that he allegedly prepared the concoctions for the three sales girls to drop in their employer’s food to make her love them and not to kill her as alleged by the police.
Shittabay allegedly stated, “the three sales girls came to meet me in my shrine at Idumota, Lagos Island and beg me to prepare concoctions for them to drop in their employer’s food to make her love them and to stop her from further quarrelling with them on any little mistakes and not to kill her.”
Shittabay and Aroyi were charged before the Tinubu Magistrate’s Court, Lagos Island on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and an attempt to poison their employer.
Police prosecuting Counsel, Inspector Koti Aondohemba told the Court in the charge marked Tc/04/2022 that the defendants committed the offence on 28 June 2022 at Shop 97, Habibatu Mogaji Shopping plaza, Ebute-Ero market, Idumota, Lagos.
Aondohemba informed the Court that the native doctor prepared poison for the three sales girls to drop in their employer’s food to kill her after which they would steal her foreign currencies, adding that their evil plans however failed as the complainant caught them and collected the poison from them.
He said the offences the defendants committed were punishable under sessions 411,287(7) and 139(a)(b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and Magistrate, A.T Omoyele granted them N200,000 bail each with two sureties each in like sum.
Omoyele adjourned the case till 28 July, 2022 for mention and ordered that the defendants be detained at the Ikoyi and Kirikiri correctional facility till they perfected their bail conditions.