'I Was Paid ₦500,000 to Throw Acid' — Suspect Admits Mistaking Target in Lagos Spa Attack

A 37-year-old man, Ziaulihak Zakari, alias “Abuja,” says he was paid ₦500,000 to carry out an acid attack on a female spa worker in Lakowe, Lagos — but ended up assaulting the wrong person.

The victim, Olorunseunfunmi Awosogbon, suffered severe burns to her head, chest, and hands after the October 25, 2025 attack. She had honoured a home service booking through her spa at Lakowe Golf Gate, near Utmost Care Hospital, when she was attacked.

Zakari, arrested on March 19, 2026, confessed in a video that he was hired by a man identified as Owolabi Daniel through a security guard.

“There is a man named Daniel who contacted me… and said he needed someone to pour acid on a person. I agreed,” Zakari said. “I couldn’t do it the first time because I was scared. When another chance came, I mistook the target and attacked the wrong person.”

He said the acid was provided by Daniel and the security guard, and that he gave the guard ₦50,000 for the connection. Zakari expressed remorse for the mistake.

According to Awosogbon’s employer, Olorunmaye Ifeoluwa, the attack was tied to a past relationship dispute between Ifeoluwa and Daniel. The relationship, she said, ended after months of conflict.

Both Zakari and Daniel have been arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Ebute-Metta on charges of conspiracy, threat to life, and causing bodily harm. Prosecutors allege the pair conspired in October 2025 to commit felony acts under Section 411 of the Lagos State Criminal Law 2015. Daniel is also accused of threatening Ifeoluwa’s life via WhatsApp, an offence under Section 232.

Zakari faces an additional charge of unlawfully wounding Awosogbon with a corrosive substance, contrary to Section 246 of the same law.