Security Guard and His Accomplice Jailed For Attempting To Poison Employer

A security guard, Genesis Anthony and his accomplice, Victor Jegede, on Tuesday jointly bagged five years imprisonment for attempting to poison their employer and steal his money.

Mrs Folake Davies-Abegunde of the Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, said that the sentences were without option of fine. In her ruling, the magistrate said that Anthony should spend four years in prison while his accomplice, Jegede should serve a year behind bars. She, however, took into cognizance the one year Jegede had spent in detention and ruled that he had served his sentence by virtue of “the time he stayed in custody“.

She described the crime of the convicts as “wicked and inhuman”. “Both of you are serious threats to the society and since you have failed to convince the court otherwise, you are hereby sentenced accordingly,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Anthony and Jegede had at their arraignment on August 6, 2010, pleaded not guilty to a four-count charge. The charges included conspiracy, intent to poison another person, threat to life, unlawful damage and escape from lawful custody.

The prosecutor, Sgt Peter Nwangwu, said that the accused committed the offences at No. 1, Abraham Adesanya Estate, Ogombo area of Lagos, when they planned to poison one Aruwaji Adedipe, their employer. Nwangwu told the court that the accused, sometime in August 2010, conspired to eliminate Adedipe by adding to his meal some powdery substance suspected to be poison, with the aid of his housemaid.

“Anthony, having got wind of his boss’ possession of some hard currencies, conspired with Jegede to eliminate him with the help of their housemaid and steal the money. “Unfortunately for them, the housemaid— identified as Mary— refused to cooperate and she reported the matter to the estate’s security personnel. “The two conspirators were then arrested and charged to court. “But while in police custody Jegede destroyed his cell’s burglary proof in an attempt to escape,” the prosecutor said. 

Nwangwu had said that their offences contravened Sections 337, 86, 451, 135 and 516 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State, 2003.

Source: PMNews