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| Ituah & Ibidun Ighodalo...Pix courtesy Stella Dimorkus |
An attempt by two
domestic staff to poison Pastor Ituah Ighodalo of Trinity House, a
mega church in Victoria Island, Lagos, western Nigeria, has been foiled.
The two
workers allegedly connived with a herbalist to hatch the plot to enable them
kidnap the pastor’s wife, Ibidunni, and demand for a ransom of N80 million.
But the plot was
foiled by the couple before they could actualise it. The police have arrested
the two domestic staff and the herbalist and charged them to court for
attempted murder.
Police identified
the suspects as Abdulkareem Mohammed, 24, the alleged mastermind of the plot,
employed by the couple as a dog handler, Makinde Ewuosi, 36, a native doctor
who resides at 21, Joseph Street, Lagos Island and has his shrine at 9, Alofun
Street, Lagos Island, and Paul Eke, 29, a security guard at Osborne Foreshore
Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos where the couple resides.
Police
investigation revealed that nemesis caught up with the suspects when the
couple’s pet dog named Simba suddenly died from food poisoning at their
residence at Ikoyi, Lagos.
Suspecting a foul
play, the couple contacted their dog’s doctor to conduct an examination on it
to know the cause of its death and the doctor’s report revealed that the dog
died from food poisoning.
The couple
reported the incident to the police and the dog handler was arrested and taken
to the station for interrogation.
During
interrogation, according to the police, the dog handler (Mohammed) from Borno
State, allegedly confessed that he mixed poisonous substances given to him by a
herbalist with food for the dog to eat and after the dog ate the food it died.
In his alleged
confession to the police, Mohammed further said: “The security man in our
estate, Eze, brought the information that if we poison my boss to death, kidnap
his wife and demand for N80 million ransom we would be rich overnight. And to
actualize our mission, I went to consult a native doctor, Ewuosi for help.
“And after
explaining my mission to the native doctor, he gave me poisonous black powder,
black soap and sponge with a directive that I must use the powder to poison my
master’s dog to know the effectiveness of the poison and if it vomits and dies,
I should use it to poison anybody.
“After the dog
died, we were still planning how to use the poison on my boss and kidnap his
wife for ransom before I was arrested. But I don’t know how the devil used me
to plan such evil against my employers because they were taking good care of
me. I pray to God to forgive me.”
Following his
alleged confession, Mohammed led the police to arrest the herbalist and the
security guard.
Ewuosi, the
herbalist, allegedly confessed that he prepared some concoctions for the dog
handler but not to kill anybody.
After
investigation, the suspects were charged before a Tinubu Magistrates’ court on
a two-count charge of attempted murder of Pastor Ituah Ighodalo and his wife,
Ibidunni.
The offences, the
police prosecutor, Supol Chidi Okoye said, are punishable under sections 409
and 228(1)(2) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.
The accused
persons, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge in the open court, and Chief
Magistrate Miss A.O. Awogboro admitted them on bail in the sum of N500,000 each
with two sureties each in like.
Awogboro directed
the prosecutor to send the case file to the DPP’s office for advice and
adjourned the case till 18 March, 2015 for mention.
The defendants
were, however, taken to Ikoyi Prison, Lagos, pending when they will fulfill
their bail conditions.
Culled from
P.M.NEWS
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