An Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court on Monday ordered that a prophet and prophetess, who allegedly forced a 16-year-old domestic staff to swallow an iron cross for “spiritual cleansing” be remanded in prisons.
The police charged Kehinde Salami, 25, and Yetunde Akinol, 42, who reside at No.20 Adeyemi St., Ifako-Ijaiye in Lagos, with four counts of conspiracy, breach of peace, false pretenses and attempted murder.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, but admitted that they gave the complainant an iron cross to swallow for “deliverance from witchcraft”.
Chief Magistrate, Mrs T.A. Ojo, ordered that they be remanded in Kirikiri Prison, pending the fulfillment of their bail conditions.
Ojo had admitted each of the defendants to bail in the sum of N200,000 each.
She also ordered that the case file be duplicated and sent to the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP), for advice.
The magistrate adjourned the case until April 30.
Earlier, the Police Prosecutor, Sgt. Kenrich Nomayo, told the court the defendants attempted to kill the domestic staf by forcing her to swallow an iron cross against her wish.
Nomayo alleged that the defendants committed the offence on March 24 at about 4 p.m., at their residence.
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“The defendants conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace; they claimed to foresee vision on the complainant of being a witch.
“The defendants gave the complainant an iron cross to swallow on the pretext to deliver her from witchcraft, a representation they both knew to be false.
“As we speak, we do not know the state of the complainant health as she is still receiving treatment at an undisclosed the hospital,’’ he said.
The offence, he said, contravened the provisions of sections 168, 208, 314 and 411 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that conspiracy offence stipulates two years imprisonment, while false pretenses attracts a-15-year jail term and attempted murder prescribes life imprisonment if convicted.