Herbalist Who Defrauds Clients Seeking for Quick Riches with Tortoise Arrested in Lagos After a N4m Fraud

A notorious herbalist who operates in Lagos and alleges to make people wealthy has defrauded a cab driver who was seeking charms to boost his transport business.

A herbalist identified as Abiodun David who allegedly defrauded a cab driver, Adebayo Omoniyi, of about N4 million, has been appprehended by the Zone 2 Police Command in Lagos state.

According to a report by Punch Metro, the victim was introduced to the suspect by a friend, who claimed that he (David) had made charms for him which were effective.

The suspect 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.

It was gathered that 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.

While speaking to a correspondent, 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.”

The suspect who also spoke to reporters, 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.”