A 41-day-old baby, Zainab Olajide, has died after she was allegedly poisoned by her father, Kazeem Olajide, in a desperate attempt to divorce his wife.
The incident happened at about 7am on Friday at Toluwalase Estate, Ijoko-Abule, in the Lemode area of Ogun State.
The mother, Abosede Ogundare, had left Zainab with Kazeem to sweep the compound only to come back and met the baby with foams gushing out from her mouth.
It was learnt that Ogundare alerted neighbours to the incident having found a bottle containing pesticide with her husband.
Zainab was said to have been rushed to a hospital in the community, where she eventually died.
The suspect, who hails from Abeokuta, Ogun State, attempted to flee, but was held by residents, while the landlord of the house reported the case to the monarch of the community, Oba Solomon Sokunbi.
It was gathered that the father was handed over to policemen at the Agbado Police Division after he confessed to the crime before the monarch.
A resident, who identified himself only as Biodun, said Kazeem had been threatening to divorce his wife before the baby’s untimely death.
He said, “He doesn’t love the woman and has been trying to divorce her. He poisoned the innocent baby to actualise his mission. They recently moved to this estate. She was their only child.”
The landlord of the house, who did not want his name in print, said the suspect had denied being Zainab’s father prior to the incident.
He said, “Three days before the incident, Kazeem (Olajide) was looking for a pair of his slippers. When he did not find it on time, he started raining curses. I called him by his daughter’s name, and tried to caution him, but he warned me not to call him by her name again. It was when the incident happened that I realised he might have intentionally killed the child.”
Sokunbi, the Oba of Ijoko-Lemode, said Kazeem owned up to the act, claiming that he was pushed by the devil. He said he had been following the case to ensure that the suspect was brought to justice.
No comments:
Post a Comment