A 50-year-old Beninese farmer, Poni Bada, left his country home for Nigeria, with his unsuspecting nine-year-old son, who he intended to use for money rituals.
Three other men: Ige Koselu, Benjamin Balovi and Segun Shile, accompanied the farmer to a herbalist’s home in Owode area of Ogun State, where the money ritual was to be carried out.
The trio contributed N100,000 needed to start the ritual process, with an agreement to have their share of the loot when the ritual is successful and money starts to roll in.
But that was not to be, as a team of policemen from the Zone 2 Command, Onikan Lagos, who acted on intelligence, stormed the herbalist’s shrine and effected the arrest of all the suspects, while the would-be sacrificial lamb was rescued.
According to Vanguard, One of the accomplices called segun shile expressed regrets, saying, “If I had known, I would have withdrawn. We were warned by the herbalist I took them to at Owode, Ogun State, not to use the boy.
“When I called the herbalist on the phone, he said there was nothing like money rituals. Few days later, he invited me to bring the person that would be used for the rituals.
“Immediately he sighted the boy, he stated categorically that the child’s head was too strong to be used for rituals.
“He, however, demanded N100,000 to take to another herbalist who would perform the rituals.
“Three of us: Balobi, Koshelu and myself, who accompanied the father of the boy there, then went outside to discuss how to raise the money.
“Balobi brought N50,000, and Koshelu and I added N25,000 each. We told the boy’s father not to pay since he was donating his son for the ritual.
“The agreement was for him to give us out of what would come out of the process. When we handed the money to the herbalist, he picked up his phone and called someone. To our surprise, the next thing we saw were policemen.”
Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Command, AIG Muhammed Ali who confirmed the arrest of the suspects and rescue of the minor, said the latter would be taken to a juvenile home at the end of investigation.
