BUSTED: Fake Hindu monk who scammed Trader of N167,000 arrested

The operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team( IRT) have apprehended a man who posed as a Hindu Monk and defrauded a second – hand clothes seller , Emmanuel Ekpe, the sum of N167,000.

The 36-year-old trader who was looking for solution to his slow business had approached the magician for business boom, who then gave him a substance after collecting the sum of N167,000 from him .

The substance which the magician gave to Emmanuel according to him, never worked.

The matter was reported to IRT office in Abeokuta on July 8 2019 by Emmanuel and Ekechi, the Hindu monk, was tracked down to Alagbado in Lagos state .

In his confession when paraded before newsmen, 50-year-old Ekechi said he went into fraud after his electronics business collapsed .

I am from Izza in Ebonyi State and I have four children. One day, I travelled to Accra, Ghana, to buy goods worth N3m and Customs operatives seized them. I became frustrated and could not find any means to get money to continue my business.

I found out that some Nigerians are desperate to get rich quickly and I decided to use my brain to get what I want. I lied to my clients that I had power and that I learnt metaphysical science from India.

I charged N7,700 for consultation form and N1m for a person who wants to win a contract.

The man (Ekpe) wanted to boost his business. I charged him N167,000 but he first deposited N57,000 and promised to pay the balance in a month’s time.

I told him that he must pay fully for the things I gave him to work. He came back to my ‘office’ and complained that what I did for him did not work.

I told him to stop complaining so that the gods would not be angry with him.

I did not know he would report to the police.

In his statement, the distressed trader said he sought for metaphysical power to save his crashing business.

I am married with three children and I deal in second-hand clothes. I started from Katankowa Market, Abule-Egba, Lagos, before I moved to Kuto Market in Abeokuta. My business crumbled and I was desperately looking for what to do to revive it.

I tried to secure a loan from many places but I did not succeed. I saw his (Ekechi’s) poster around Abule Egba area of Lagos and read that he had the power to boost business.

I called him on the phone and he directed me to take a motorbike to Kola bus stop. He took me to his temple at Alagbado and gave me a consultation form which I filled. I told him that I wanted to revive my business.

I paid N18,000 for a ring he gave me. He said I should do a sacrifice for it to work and he asked me to pay N120,000 but I deposited N80,000. He also asked me to pay N18,000 for ‘spiritual tax,’ and N35,000 for another sacrifice.

I returned to tell him that I did not get results for what I paid for and asked him to refund my money. He refused and started to threaten my life. He refunded N53,000.”

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