Crime

Ex-minister doped by cook, loses millions to gang

Published

9 years ago

November 21, 2017

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested the chef of former Minister of Finance Dr Kalu Idika. The cook connived with others to rob his boss.

Peter Odion lived with Ndika at 180A, Moshood Olugbani Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The cook allegedly put some sedatives into a cup of coffee he served his on a Wednesday morning, lulling him to sleep.

Odion was said to have led his gang members into the boss’ apartment, where they made away with a sum of N750,000, a Blackberry, a Samsung phone and other valuables estimated at about N10m.

Odion was paraded on Monday at the police command office in Ikeja along with four others identified as Samuel Ogana, Joy Omagu, Uboh Obi and Sunday Emmanuel.

The state Acting Commissioner of Police Edgal Imohimi said the State Intelligence Bureau tracked down the suspects.

According to him, the gang members had wanted to adopt a similar method to rob one Mrs. Augustina Akhibi. But they failed.

“The syndicate is made up of six members who specialise in getting jobs as cooks or home helps and while in service, gain the trust of their principals and inject their food with drugs to make them sleep off. They thereafter cart away their principals’ belongings,” the CP said.

“The first victim, Dr Kalu Idika, was robbed of items worth N10,943,000 on September 20, 2017, while the second potential victim, Mrs. Akhibi, was used by the police as a bait to bust the syndicate.”

He said substances like Diazepam Injection, ground nitrogen (morgodon) table, and a syringe filled with some substances, were recovered from the gang.

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Odion admitted to the crime. He said he was desperate to get the N60,000 his boss allegedly owed him.

“I told my friend, Samuel (Ogana), and he gave me the drug to put in his tea. They came in when he was asleep and robbed him. I played along with them. Other workers in the house did not know I was involved. I got N100,000 from the proceeds,” Odion explained.

Omagu said Emmanuel acted as an agent and contracted her as a housemaid to Akhibi.

“He gave me some sedatives to make the woman sleep, but I had not used them when the police arrested me,” she added.

Emmanuel, however, denied that he gave the drugs to Omagu, noting that he had got a housemaid for the woman in the past.