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.
PUNCH Metro learnt that 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.
Our correspondent learnt that 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.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the father was
handed over to policemen at the Agbado
Police Division after he confessed to the crime
before the monarch.
The couple’s residence was locked up when
our correspondent visited the community on
Tuesday.
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.
He said, “It was the landlord who came to
report the case to me and I directed my chiefs
to bring him and the wife to the palace. I
asked the husband and he confessed. He said
it was the handiwork of the devil.
“I called the police from the Agbado Police
Division to arrest him. They said he had been
transferred to the state command
headquarters. I have been following the case.
This is a pure murder case and I want the
police to duly prosecute the suspect and let
him face the law.”
The monarch added that Kazeem’s wife told
him in the presence of his chiefs that she saw
the bottle with him two days before the
incident.
He said, “The woman thought the bottle
contained herbs. She said she left the child
with him to sweep the compound, only to
return and met Zainab gasping and foaming in
the mouth. She said she
smelled pesticide in the baby’s mouth.”
The Ogun State Police Public Relations
Officer, DSP Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed that
the case had been transferred to the
command headquarters, adding that Zainab’s
remains had been deposited in a mortuary.
Adejobi said, “The corpse of the baby has
been deposited in a mortuary. The case has
been transferred to the Department of
Criminal Investigation for further
investigation.
“We have the suspect with us and he is going
to be properly investigated. He and others
found culpable in the course of our
investigation will be charged to court.”
