An attempt by two domestic staff to poison Pastor Itua Ighodalo of Trinity House, a mega church in Victoria Island, Lagos, western Nigeria, has been foiled. According to PM News, 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. •Pastor Ighodalo and wife 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 interogation. During
interogation, 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 actualise 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 Itua 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 surties 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 fulfil their bail conditions.
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