Date: 2017-05-20

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Kwara State command, on Monday, paraded one Abdulsalam Adesina, a herbalist suspected to be using diabolical means to extort money from residents of the state.

The state commandant of NSCDC, Pedro Awili during the parade said the suspect and his partner identified as Abdulrasak, who is now at large used voodoo to hypnotise and extort money from their patrons all in the name of solving their problems.

He further stated that several people have fallen victim to the dubious act. According to him, the suspect was arrested after a victim in Offa, regained her memory and reported to the command that she had been duped through terrestrial power.

Awili, who stated that Adesina will be charged to court after the completion of investigation, urged the public not to hesitate in providing information that could help in curbing crime in the state.

He added that residents of the state should report any suspicious movement to the NSCDC or other security agents.

Speaking to our reporter, the 25-year-old suspect said that the crime was his first, adding that he engaged in herbal practice to treat those with ailments but he was persuaded into defrauding people by Rasak.

According to Adesina, he inherited the herbal practice from his forefathers and he had been curing people without problem until he met Rasak.

"Rasak came to me from Ibadan and when he entered my room and saw the charms displayed, he asked 'why not use such power to extort money from people'. I however told him I don't know how to do such.

"He told me there is a client of his that he wanted us to use the power for. He said the lady has a problem she is desperate to solve and that we can use that to collect money from her.

"When she came down, I pretended as herbalist and collected N39,000 from her. The woman later discovered that we have duped her that was what led to my arrest but my colleague is now at large."