Two cooks, who are nationals of Benin Republic, Victor Hounkpe and David Amusu, have said they poisoned their employer’s meal so as to cart away valuable items from the house.
The cooks identified as Victor Hounkpe and David Amusu were arrested by the Lagos State Police Command after poisoning their employers’ meal in the Lekki area of the state.
Trouble however started on Wednesday, April 22, when 34-year-old Victor Hounkpe, allegedly poisoned a vegetable soup he prepared for the family.
DAILY POST gathered that shortly after consuming the poisonous soup, the husband, Nwogu, reportedly started complaining of severe stomach ache and collapsed, and was taken to a nearby hospital by his wife, Omowunmi.
The wife also collapsed at the hospital gate after complaining of severe stomach pain. Both couple were said to have been treated in the same hospital.
It was further learnt that aside the couple, the security guards and other domestic workers who ate the poisoned meal became unconscious and were hospitalised.
Both Hounkpe and Amusu were said to have fled from the house.
According to the police, the couple have petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, on the incident, and after investigation by the Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba, the culprits were rounded up.
34-year-old Hounkpe disclosed that he poisoned the meal because he wanted to make everybody fall asleep so that he could cart away valuables from the house.
Hounkpe affirmed, “I am from the Benin Republic. I came to Nigeria in 2007. I have always worked as a cook in Lagos. David was the agent who brought me to the couples’ house. He was the one who gave me the substance to put inside the soup. He told me the substance was a sleeping pill. The plan was that everyone would fall asleep.
“They wanted to steal gold and other valuables. I put the substance inside the vegetable soup. It was a powdery substance. I had worked with them for about a month. The couple did not offend us. They were to pay me N50,000 monthly. We just wanted them to sleep off. I ran to the Ogudu area after the incident to pick up another job. That was where I was arrested.”
Amusu, 33, also noted that when the couple became unconscious, they were rushed to the hospital, hence they put a stop to their intended robbery.
Amusu said, “I was a former cook in the house. I was the one who brought Victor (Hounkpe). On the fateful day, when Victor finished cooking the soup, he called me to say the job had been done. But then, we learnt that the couple was rushed to a hospital after falling unconscious. So, we fled the area.”
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Aderanti, while parading the suspects, appealed to residents not to employ people into their homes any how, adding that they should always carry out background checks.
“They have both confessed to the crime. Both husband and wife have been flown abroad for treatment. I want the public to always be careful about the people they bring into their homes. In Lagos, there is no place for criminals to hide,” he said.
Comments