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’ then
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.
PUNCH
