Herbalist Arrested In His Shrine After Collecting N4m To Do Charm For A Taxi Driver

The police has arrested one   Abiodun David, for allegedly
defrauding a cab driver of about N4m.

The police said the victim, Adebayo Omoniyi, had been introduced to the suspect by a friend, who claimed that he (David) had made charms
for him which were effective.

David was alleged to have promised to make a charm that would boost Omoniyi’s transport
business and make wealthy people in the society to favour him.

However, after paying the money, which was for
concoctions and other ingredients, the 38-year- old reportedly did not notice any improvement in his fortune, and when he challenged the
suspect for a refund, his request was turned down.

He subsequently reported a case of fraud to the police at the zone 2 command, leading to the
arrest of the suspect at his shrine in Atan,
Sango, Ogun State, last week Thursday.

A police source said operatives recovered a tortoise and bottled candles from the shrine.

He said,
“The herbalist said one Kazeem he
worked for introduced Omoniyi to him to
also assist him in preparing a charm that
will boost his transport business and
make him to find favour with wealthy
people in the society so that he can get rich.”

However, the suspect claimed he only collected N380,000 from the victim, adding that he was
surprised the matter was reported to the police.
He said,

“I prepared bars of soap and some other concoctions for him. After a month, he
came back and accused me of
defrauding him and said what I gave him did not work as expected. That was how
I was arrested by the policemen at my shrine in Atan. He was not the first person I would prepare the charm for.

“I learnt the herbalist job from my grandmother, who was an herbalist before she died. Initially, I was a barber
before I started the herbalist job. Since I started the work, I have not prepared
money ritual for people. What I do is to assist those in need of favour and some
other medical-related issues.
“I was surprised when I was told that I collected N4m from the cab driver. The
tortoise and the candle in the bottle that were recovered from my shrine are meant for a client. I don’t do money ritual for people.”

The Zonal Police Public Relation Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said the suspect was a
fraudster who always disguised as an old man to deceive his victims.

She said,
“The suspect always put on costumes to
deceive people that he is actually an
herbalist. He collected N4m from the
victim. The Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Adamu Ibrahim, has said that
the suspect should be charged to court after completion of investigation.”

The Punch