Three brothers held for using sniper as beans preservative

…offer police N500, 000 bribe to squash case

Owoseni

Detectives attached to the Lagos State Police Command have arrested three brothers for using sniper, a harmful insecticide for humans, as preservative for beans.

The brothers, who were arrested Alagbado area of the State, were alleged to have been caught red-handed using the insecticide.

The brothers have been identified as Faith Ogbonna, Chijioke Ogbonna and Sunday Ogbonna.

Stating their defence, the suspects insisted they only applied the sniper to kill some of the insects destroying the beans.

The act was exposed after one of their customers, who went to buy beans caught them applying the liquid to the beans. The customer immediately raised the alarm, attracting attention of residents.

The matter was immediately reported at Alakuko Police Station. The police first picked Chijioke and Sunday, later Faith.

Chijioke said: “We were only using the sniper to preserve the beans from being damaged by insects. I didn’t know it’s harmful. I saw people using as preservative; that was why I decided to used it. Insects had destroyed some bags of beans in our shop. I wanted to prevent further damage. I applied the chemical.”

When asked, if he had eaten part of the contaminated beans, he said no.

He, however, stated: “I don’t eat from it. I eat different beans. I didn’t know sniper is harmful. It was one of our customers who saw me that told me it was dangerous.”

Faith attempted to exonerate Chijioke of deliberately adding sniper into the beans.

Faith said: “I’m the owner of the shop. I have another shop somewhere else. I was not aware he was using sniper to preserve the beans. I guess he did it because I once told him that people use chemicals to kill insects. But at Maiduguri, where I buy beans, I used to see people using such chemicals to preserve and kill insects. My brother didn’t do it deliberately to kill or harm anybody.”

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, said the traders were arrested for missing sniper with the beans they sell to members of the public.

He added: “After the suspects were arrested, their elder brother tried to offer the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Alakuko, N500, 000, in order to free his brothers. The remaining bags of beans have been confiscated.”