The police in
Lagos State have arrested a 27-year-old housemaid, Mariam Acheme, and four
others for allegedly robbing the housemaid’s boss.
According to police authorities, the
housemaid, invited her boyfriend, Dansu Akokran, and another person at large to
rob her boss and also stage her own kidnap.
The Police Public Relations Officer
of the state command, Ngozi Braide, said, “On November 26, 2012, the housemaid
invited her boyfriend to her boss’ house when the madam had gone out. On
getting to the house, the boyfriend and another person ransacked the entire
house.
“They vandalised the doors and also
stole all the valuables. The housemaid then padlocked the gate from outside and
fled with them.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that when the
owner of the house arrived, she discovered that all her valuables were gone and
Acheme was nowhere to be found.
The victim was said to have
immediately reported the matter to the Bode Thomas Police Division.
Braide said a few days later, someone
contacted the housemaid’s boss and informed her that Acheme had been kidnapped.
She said the woman returned to the police and informed them of the development.
Braide said, “The madam told the
police that some men called and said they had kidnapped the housemaid. The men
asked for N5m and said if the money was not paid, they would not release her.
The housemaid spoke to her ‘madam’ on the phone, crying and telling her that
she was being tortured by the kidnappers and urged her boss to pay the ransom
immediately.
“The Divisional Police Officer, Bode
Ojajuni, immediately swung into action. Detectives at the station were able to
establish contact with the kidnappers and urged them to collect N1m. The
kidnappers then sent a bank account number which the money should be paid
into.”
It was learnt that the account number
belonged to one Prosper Tatou, a bricklayer.
Through the bank account number,
policemen traced the owner to Agbara area of Ogun State and accosted him.
A close police source, who craved
anonymity, said Tatou led the police to the hideout of the other suspects.
He said, “Tatou said he knew nothing
about any kidnap but told us that a few days earlier, his brother, Jean Mari, had
asked him to send his bank account number because he needed to receive some
money from someone.
“Tatou then led us to a deserted
building where his brother lives. At the house, we were able to arrest those
who masterminded the purported kidnap.”
Detectives were however shocked when
they saw the housemaid in the compound.
“That was when we discovered that she
connived with her boyfriend to commit the crime,” the police source said.
Acheme however denied conniving with
the kidnappers.
She said although she had invited her
boyfriend to come and visit her when the incident occurred, she had no clue of
his intentions.
“I invited my boyfriend (Dansu) to
come and visit me at the house when my madam had gone out. When he arrived, he
came with another guy and both of them pushed me into the toilet and locked me
there. They stole all my madam’s things and then kidnapped me,” she said.
When asked why she did not escape
from the purported kidnappers’ den when she had the chance, she said, “I could
not escape because I did not know the terrain.”
She added, “My boss was very nice to
me. She paid me N12, 000 a month and I had worked with her for seven months and
she never maltreated me.
“She has two grown-up children and
they even give me tip when I do their laundry. I could not have repaid their
kindness with wickedness.”
Dansu also claimed to be innocent,
saying it was his friend, Femi, who is now at large, that planned the whole
thing.
The PPRO seized the opportunity to
warn employers of domestic servants to be wary of the people they hire, noting
that cases of crimes being committed by domestic servants seem to be on the
rise.
The PPRO noted that the suspects were
all nationals of Benin Republic and said it was necessary for employers to
register their domestic servants at the nearest police stations
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