By Ola Ajayi
Ibadan—A shrine, suspected to be a hideout for kidnappers has been
discovered by Oyo State Police Command at Isase, Ojoku, in Ona Ara Local
Government Area of the state.
Fake dollar notes and posh cars were
discovered at the shrine, which is located in a very remote place, by a team of
policemen led by the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Muhammed Katsina.
The cars include two Toyota Camry,
with number plates LAGOS AAA-125 and LAGOS AAA-207 DH; and another Nissan
Almera, with number plates LAGOS AGL 882 DF.
Other items found at the shrine
include idols, charms, cowries and mats.
There was an underground cell where
captives were believed to be kept. Also discovered in the place was a substance
that looked like palm oil and salt, which were poured on some statues.
Though two of the suspects escaped,
policemen arrested one of them whose name was given as Ismail Adesina, 43.
Confession
Oyo State Commissioner of Police,
Muhammed Katsina (left) and his men at a suspected ritualist den in Isese of
Badaku village, Ibadan, yesterday. NAN photo.
He denied the allegation that they
were ritualists, but confessed that he and others at large were using the
shrine to dupe their victims.
He added that they collected between
N150,000 and N250,000 from their victims, depending on the extent of deceit.
The suspect said they had been using
the shrine for the past four years.
He said: “We have deceived up to five
persons, comprising four men and one woman. The woman came to us because she
was barren. We asked her to bring N150,000 or N200,000.
“We built this place ourselves. We
do the work of Babalawo here. Our clients used to come from as far as
Abuja.
“I hail from Beyerunka, Ibadan. My
father was a Babalawo. But my father was not a fraudster like me.
“The owners of the cars are our
partners that usually bring customers to us.
“My wife divorced me and went away
with the two kids she had for me. She left me about two years ago because she
asked me for money and I did not have.
“I have been into this business
before the divorce issue came in.”
The police commissioner said he had
spread his dragnet to catch the fleeing suspects wherever they might be.
0 comments:
Post a Comment