A teenage home helper is currently explaining to the police why she attempted to kill a 93-year-old woman with poison in Maryland, Lagos State.

WuzupNigeria reports that the Beninese home help (name withheld) on Saturday added a substance suspected to be sniper to the elderly woman’s tea.

The spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the arrest on Tuesday. He said that the suspect was employed by the daughter of the nonagenarian, Madam Christiana.

The spokesman said that Madam Christiana lived in the same building with her daughter, who always instructed the teenager to stay with her mother anytime she went to work.

According to him, the employer lived downstairs while her mother lived upstairs.

Elkana said that the suspect went upstairs to stay with the old woman on Friday as usual and met her preparing tea in her sitting room.

He said that the woman closed the teacup for a while and went into her bedroom.

Elkana said as soon as the old woman left the sitting room for the bedroom, the suspect opened the cup and added a substance.

According to Elkana, the nonagenarian’s home help who was working in her kitchen came to the sitting room and saw the suspect adding the substance, and reported to the old woman, who threw the tea away.

He said that the woman’s son, Abayomi, reported the case at the Anthony Village Police Station at 1.00 p.m. on Saturday.

“The police visited, searched the house, arrested the suspect and recovered an empty mug of the suspected poisoned tea.

“The suspect confessed to the offence.

“She alleged that the old woman always shouted at her; she said she was tired of her tantrums, so she decided to poison her tea that day.

“She laced her unsuspecting victim’s usual morning tea with sniper (Dichlorvos or 2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate) but the victim was smart enough not to drink it. She will be charged to court soon,’’ he said.

(NAN)