The police in Lagos have arrested a 19-year-old housemaid (names withheld) from the Republic of Benin for attempting to kill a 93-year-old woman.
She was alleged to have added a substance suspected to be sniper into Christiana Ogunshina’s tea in their Mende-Maryland residence with a view to killing the nonagenarian.
The spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Bala Elkana, confirmed the arrest of the foreigner to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday.
He said the suspect was working for the daughter of the old woman before the incident happened.
Mr Elkana said the incident happened to Mrs Ogunshina last Saturday at Mende Maryland in Lagos State where she was living with her daughter.
He said that whenever the old woman’s daughter went to work, she would request her maid to stay with her mother upstairs pending her return.
The police image-maker said that last Saturday, the maid went upstairs as usual.
The PPRO said that while the suspect was seated, the old woman prepared her morning tea, closed the cup for some minutes and left for her room.
Mr Elkana said that as soon as the old woman left the sitting room, the suspect allegedly opened the cup containing the tea and added the substance.
Mr Elkana added that the suspect, however, did not know that the old woman’s personal maid who was working in the kitchen came to the sitting room and saw the suspect adding the substance into the tea.
He said the old woman’s maid reported what she saw to her madam, while the suspect left the upstairs to their apartment downstairs to wash clothes.
The PPRO said the old woman then ordered her personal maid to empty the cup of its content and wash the cup.
He said that after the maid had emptied the cup, she discovered some substances at the bottom of the cup, which she showed to her madam.
The spokesperson said the old woman invited her eldest son, one Abayomi Ayobami, who perceived the content in the cup and suspected it to be a poisonous substance.
The PPRO said, “Abayomi Ayobami reported the case at the Anthony Police Station at about 1p.m. on Saturday.
“The police visited and searched the house. They arrested the suspect as well as took away the empty cup that contained the poisoned tea before it was poured away to their station.
“The suspect confessed to the offence.
“She alleged that the old woman was always shouting at her and that she was tired of her tantrums, so she decided to poison her that day.”
(NAN)