5th March, 2016
Cyriacus Izuekwe
The police at Aswani division have arrested two Balogun market waste disposal workers at Trade Fair Complex for allegedly endangering public health by picking expired products from dumpsite and selling same to public in Lagos State, western Nigeria.
They are facing charges of conspiracy and poisoning the general public before Isolo Magistrates’ court, Lagos.
The suspects include a female, 46-year old Gladys Nwaka and her accomplice Ikechukwu Eze, 27.
The police alleged that the suspects picked up various expired products from the dustbin at the Trade Fair Complex dumpsite and went to Aswani market to sell them at give-away prices.
The suspects were arrested after those they sold the products to were arrested at Aswani market where they went to re-sell the expired items.
P.M.NEWS gathered that the items recovered from the suspects include expired drugs, creams and other dangerous items which were later away by the buyers.
Sources told P.M.NEWS that while they were selling the items at Aswani, one of the owners of the products who saw them and knew the items were already expired and were thrown away, went to the police and reported.
Consequently, they were arrested and some of the items were recovered and taken to the station as exhibits.
After their arrest, Nwaka, who hails from Anambra State, admitted that she actually sold some of the items to the buyers who in turn sold to the public.
She pleaded for forgiveness and promised that she would not go back to such business again.
Ebonyi state-born Eze also admitted and said he did not know that it was harmful and will not deal in such expired products again if he was released.
The DPO did not accept their plea and consequently charged them to court.
When they were arraigned, the prosecutor, Uagbale Oje informed the court about the gravity of the offence the suspects committed.
He also informed the court that the police would amend the charge on the next adjourned date.
The presiding Magistrate, Mrs. A. K. Shonubi granted the suspects bail in the sum of N100,000 with one surety each in like sum.
The court also ruled that the sureties must show evidence of tax payment for three years.
They were remanded in prison custody at Kirikiri pending when they will perfect their bail.
The matter was adjourned till 7 March, 2016.