Police Arrest Siblings Who Sell Poisonous Beans To Unsuspecting Customers

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

One of the three Ogbona brothers

The Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Police has arrested three siblings -Faith Ogbona, Chidioke Ogbona and Sunday Ogbona for selling beans already preserved with deadly Sniper Insecticide to unsuspecting customers in Lagos.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the brothers were among various criminal suspects paraded on Wednesday by the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni at the Command headquarters in Ikeja with some bags of the “poisonous beans” and some bottles of Snipers recovered from the shop.

The suspects were arrested by policemen from the Alagbado division when a woman raised alarm after she saw one of the brothers, Chidioke applying Sniper, on the beans.

While Chidioke and Sunday were picked up on Friday, their elder brother, Faith, who owned the shop, was arrested  on Sunday when he went to the station to secure their bail.

The police said 41-year-old Faith had wanted to influence his brothers’ release by allegedly offering the divisional police officer a N500,000 bribe, which the latter rejected.

In a chat with our correspondent, Enugu State-born Faith said that he knew that pouring Sniper inside beans was harmful but he did not know what might have happened to those who have bought the beans from him.

He confessed that his suppliers in Maiduguri, Borno State, where he always bought the goods, used some chemicals including Sniper and DD Force, to preserve beans, but his brother carried out the act without his consent.

Faith, who said he started the business four years ago, also denied offering the bribe to the DPO.

“Chidioke just came back from our village. He had never seen me put Sniper in beans. In Maiduguri, if my suppliers wanted to preserve beans, they put DD Force or Sniper in water and spray it on the beans. It will be stored for about three or six months, depending on the quantity of chemicals applied,” Faith said.

“I have never mixed beans with chemicals, but I have been buying the one with chemicals from Maiduguri. If it is stored for a long time, it is not dangerous for human consumption.”

Eighteen-year-old Chidioke said all he wanted to do was to preserve the beans with the insecticide to prevent it from being infested with insects.

He said it was his first time of putting the substance in the foodstuffs, claiming that he deduced his “preservation method” from the use of Sniper to kill rodents.

The Sniper insecticide is very popular in Nigeria. It has been known as the most effective method of driving away insects including mosquitoes, cockroaches and more.

However, on the bottle, it is clearly written that it is meant for outdoor use (on farms or greenhouses) and should be mixed with water to reduce the concentration.