Three siblings were Wednesday paraded by the police for allegedly selling “poisonous beans” to members of the public.
The traders; Faith Ogbona, Chidioke Ogbona and Sunday Ogbona were arrested on Adenekan Street, Alagbado, Lagos State, following a tip-off from a resident who caught them applying sniper on the beans.
One of the suspects, Chidioke, 18, confessed that the use of insecticides on the beans was to prevent it from being infested with insects.
He said his preservation method was deduced from the use of Sniper to kill rodents.
“I just saw it (Sniper) as something that kills insects and decided to use it to preserve the beans and kill the insects therein. I was applying the chemical for the first time when a woman approached me and warned that it was dangerous.
“A few minutes after, some policemen came to arrest me. My brother (Faith) was not around when I put the Sniper in the beans.”
The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, confirming the news to reporters said the act was suspicious as Faith the eldest amongst them and owner of the shop offered to bribe the police.
“The excuse the owner of the shop gave was that he was mixing pesticide with beans and that he had been selling it like that. He approached the DPO, thinking he could easily settle the case and get the two other suspects released. He offered her N500,000, but she rejected it.”
“The suspects would be charged to court after investigation.”
Meanwhile, Faith, who said he started the business four years ago denied offering bribe to the DPO.
He said: “In Maiduguri, if my suppliers wanted to preserve beans, they put DD Force or Sniper in water and spray it on the beans. It will be stored for about three or six months, depending on the quantity of chemicals applied.
“I have never mixed beans with chemicals, but I have been buying the one with chemicals from Maiduguri.
“If it is stored for a long time, it is not dangerous for human consumption.