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Blind herbalist defrauds 86-yr-old woman of N19m, sleeps with her daughter, granddaughter

Published

3 years ago

October 7, 2023

Owolabi Adefemi a.k.a. Ojunu

Blind herbalist defrauds 86-yr-old woman of N19m, sleeps with her daughter, granddaughter

The desperate attempt of an aged woman to prevent death from snatching her children has landed her in trouble. The 86-year-old woman identified simply as Madam Alimot had 15 children, but they were snatched by death one after the other until she was left with only three.

When one of the remaining children was also hit by a strange illness last year, the octogenarian woman began a frantic search for healing. In the process, she stumbled on a weekly programme on a popular radio station based in Ogun State, where a blind herbalist was advertised as a man with mystical powers to heal the sick and see visions about people’s life problems.

Consequently, Madam Alimot, who lives in Mowe area of Ogun State, visited the herbalist, Owolabi Adefemi a.k.a. Ojunu after taking down the his phone number and address, at his home in Ogijo, another community in Ogun State, for a solution to the sickness that had seized her daughter.

Unknown to her, she had walked into the dragnet of a fraudster. Adefemi was said to have told the woman that death was hovering around her household and could only be averted through an atonement requiring a sacrifice with a cow.

The desperate woman promptly provided the amount requested for the sacrifice, setting off a chain of subsequent requests for additional money for unexpected sacrifices that gulped a princely N19 million.

By the time the scales fell off from the eyes of the woman and her children, she had sold her two buildings while her daughter and granddaughter had warmed the herbalist’s bed several times.

The homeless aged woman and her children are now left to cry for justice and a refund of the money the herbalist allegedly defrauded them of.

She said she had noticed that rather than giving her a concoction for the treatment of her daughter’s illness, the herbalist kept saying he could make her rich after making some sacrifice with cows and other expensive items.

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Alimot said: “He said we were taking the big cow to Agbara and later changed it to Mowo area of Badagry.

Madam Alimot, Bose

“We were asked to enter the house with our back to the door, and we saw a well-built young man on the floor. He said the cow we gave him money to buy had turned into a man.

“He asked me to pray on the young man’s body and stab him to death but I declined. They took our photographs and I challenged him to take our photograph at the scene while I held the knife in my hand.

“We were shown plenty of cash of different denominations stuffed in a sack.

“Babalawo Ojunu (Owolabi Adefemi) and one old man called Agbaakin, who we met in the building, then said that we could not take the money because we did not come with the third person. We left the place without the money.

“When we went back to him, he also did not give us the money. Instead, he said the money would just appear in my house with at night.

” Later, he said a monarch in Ile-Ife, Osun State had summoned him over my matter and that a sum of N2 million was needed to pacify the monarch.

“We ended up paying him the sum of N5 million on that day, but he never gave me any charm for my sick child and the child has not died contrary to what he said to cajole me to sell my houses and give him the proceeds of the sale.

“I sold the house I had built with N9 million for N5 million and gave him the money. I also sold another house and gave him the money, totalling about N19 million.

“I want to collect my money from Owolabi Adefemi a.k.a. Ojunu and Nigerians should help me because I don’t have anywhere to call home anymore.

“I have also developed high blood pressure, among other complications, as a result of this predicament of mine.

“My drugs cost N15,000 and I don’t even have money to buy the drugs as I speak.”

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One of Madam Alimot’s children, Bose, said: “I want to plead with Nigerians to help me beg Owolabi Adefemi a.k.a. Ojunu, a herbalist, to leave us alone, because my mother is dying right now.

“He has been collecting huge sums of money from my mother and my mother is panicking now.

“He cajoled my mother to sell two houses and collected the proceeds from the sale of the buildings, yet he has not let go of her.

“My mother was contemplating suicide and we have been begging her not to kill herself.

“I did not know him before until my mother gave the phone to him and he told me that I should follow her to Badagry for a certain propitiation.

“When we got to Mowo area of Badagry, he told us that we would need to buy a cow that cost N280,000 and an additional N38,000 for transporting the cow to the place where the atonement against death would be made.

“He said that failure to do that would result in multiple deaths in our family.

“That day, he took me into a dingy house and asked me to enter the house with my back to the door.

“On entering the place, I saw an old man there who asked me to pray in front of a deity, but I refused.

“He collected the N38,000 meant for transporting the cow from me and we left.

“When we returned to the place again, the old man I saw in the house led us to the back of the building where we saw a well-built man lying helplessly on the floor.

“I asked why the cow was not brought there but he said it was the cow that had turned into the helpless man on the floor and that it was begging not to be slaughtered for the sacrifice meant to avert my mother’s death.

“I was just laughing at his response, and I started shouting blood of Jesus Christ.

“He then gave me a knife to kill the man, saying that a picture of the scene would be taken twice.

“When I refused to take the knife from him, he shouted at my mother who was then visibly shaken when she was asked to hold the knife and pose with the ‘cow’ for a photograph, and she was photographed twice.

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“He collected the sum of N3.8 million. I gathered the money from various sources including someone in my neighbourhood and cooperative society. Yet he kept disturbing me, saying that I have to come to pay him another N1.5 million as the balance of the total sum before they would unveil something I don’t understand.

“I warned my mother to stop giving the man money because I sensed that he was a fraudster. But my mother disagreed with me, saying that the man only wanted to help her out of her child’s ill-health.

“The matter has scattered our family as other relatives assumed that I was the one that collected the money realised from the sale of one of her buildings. They did not know that my own money was also included in the amount collected by the herbalist.

“I remember that I personally transferred the money paid for the purchase of one of her houses to her, which she in turn paid to the herbalist.

“She later sold the house she was living for N5 million and gave it to the herbalist.

“My mother has nowhere to live now. He cannot stay with me because my apartment is too small to accommodate both of us.

“Besides, I am a widow struggling to make ends meet because I don’t live on a salary.”

Bose explained further that Adefemi cajoled her mother and also lured her to bed after he had scammed them of millions of naira.

“He actually asked my mother to sell her house. He claimed that there was something in the house that was buried underneath the foundation, and that a cow costing N350,000 would be needed to remove the evil substance from the house.

“He said that he would personally come to my mother’s house to remove the evil item buried in the house by unknown persons. He however changed his mind and asked my mother and my aunt to come over to Badagry where the sacrifice would be carried out.

“He said the item was buried inside a big pot under the building and that he could invoke the item to come out of the ground where it was buried.

“He once asked me to come on a particular day and he took me into his office where a strange creature was humming. He paid for my transportation when I told him I had no money to transport myself to and from his house.

“He later said that we would go to Badagry together and I told him that I had no money to transport myself there.

“He said that three strange birds costing N750,000 each would be needed to offer additional sacrifices.

“He told my mother to sell a three-bedroom bungalow in the Mowe area of Ogun State. The building is located on a one-and-a-half plot of land.

“I did not know anything about it and did not collect from the proceeds. The entire money was given to the herbalist.

“I lived in Ikorodu for 13 years and I did not know this herbalist called Ojunu. My mother said that he had been hearing about the herbalist lately on the radio and how he had been handling several spiritual afflictions despite the fact that he was blind.

“At a point, he told me that if there would be a permanent solution to my mother’s sickness, he would have to have an affair with me.

“I initially turned down the proposal, but he said that there was not nothing he could do if I was not ready to date him. I later acceded to his request and he made love to me in the hotel and in his house.

“He also said that he saw a vision and cajoled me to bring my daughter who is in her 20s to come for spiritual cleansing, and he slept with her too.

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“He collected a total N19 million from my mother between December 2022 and April 2023.

“I asked my mother to tell me the purpose for selling her properties and giving the money to Baba Ojunu but she wouldn’t talk.

“Baba Ojunu later warned us against telling anyone about what transpired between my mother and him as well as my love affair with him, threatening that we would lose our lives if we did not heed his warning.

“In fact, he made me take several oaths with him and warned me of dire consequences if I told anyone about what transpired between us.

“My mother has no house to live in now and my aunt is also now indebted to his employers and others.

“Baba Ojunu had no car before we started giving him money, but along the line, he bought two cars: a Toyota Forerunner Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and a sports car with Ojunu 1 on the number plates.

“We later learnt that one of his sons took the car away and plunged it into a river.

“He bought plots of land from various persons from the money he collected from us.

“His first wife, Mama Niyi, was the one that told us that he defrauded us when he used police to arrest her son who stole his car.

“We went to his house that day to plead with him to refund the money he collected from my mother when his first wife, Mama Niyi, confronted him for arresting his son, saying ‘You arrested my son for taking a car you bought from the money you scammed Bose (me) and her mother…. you (Ojunu) are a thief.’”

Explaining his complicity in the matter, the embattled herbalist described Bose as his accomplice in the matter.

Adefemi said: “Mama came to me in September 2022 for a cure to diabetes. We all know that diabetes has no permanent cure.

“She explained to me that she had spent all her money on seeking treatment for the illness and that she wanted to do money rituals.

“I told her that I could not do money rituals for her and that I could only invoke a spirit to fetch her money from a public vault. I told her that she risks jail term if she is found to be the brains behind the spirit that would fetch the money for her.’’

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Adefemi said that Bose actually connived with him to defraud her mother, alleging that she was paid 10 per cent on every payment made by her aged mother.

He said: “Mama Alimot paid for the production of a cabinet to save the money. She paid me N350,000 that day and I gave her daughter Bose part of the money before taking her to a hotel where I made love to her same day.

“Bose was the one that was giving me information whenever Mama had money, and I would work on the old woman to collect more money from her.

“For example, she told me that her mother had just collected her share of the sale of a landed property running into millions of naira. He asked me to work on her mother to collect part of the money and I did.

“Her mother even gave her N800,000 from the money to give to me. I gave Bose her own share of the money.

“Whenever Bose was broke, she would call me and ask me for money and I usually gave her.

“My wife did not know that I slept with Bose. I gave Bose part of the money in bits like N5000 or N8,000.

“She (Bose) recently told me that her mother was sick and I asked her mother to provide a big cow that would be sacrificed to avert her death.

“She gave me money for the cow and bought a new knife as directed. I told Mama that the cow had turned into a young man and that he had to kill the young man if indeed she wanted to be free from sickness.

“Mama did not kill anybody. I was the one that set her up just to create fear in her by photographing the scene where I asked them to kill the young man I lied was the cow. I actually collected N350,000 three times for the cows.

“I only defrauded Mama of over N5 million for seven months (September 2022 to March 2023) and not N19 million. The house Mama sold was where she lived in the Mowe area of Ogun State.

“From the money I collected from Bose’s mother, I was also sharing to my first wife, Mama Niyi, until I arrested my son, Niyi, who stole my Toyota Camry car, television set and generator, hence, Niyi’s mother publicly exposed me for using police to arrest her son.’’

“I used to deceive them that a spirit was talking with Mama about her predicament. What Mama did not know is that I was the one faking the voice of an old woman to deceive her. However, Bose and I spent the money together and I am telling the truth.

“I am treating high concentration of sugar in my body and I spend over N10,000 on treatment on a weekly basis.

“If I had money-making charms, I would have done it for myself and become rich before doing it for others.

“I can only promise to refund Mama’s N800,000 and they would have to give me time to raise the money because I am broke at the moment.’’

Blind herbalist defrauds 86-yr-old woman of N19m, sleeps with her daughter, granddaughter

THE NATION

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Edo Spiritualist Arrested for $1,100 Sextortion of Indian Woman – EFCC

Published

20 minutes ago

August 8, 2026

Trends Admin

Odigie Moses

Edo Spiritualist Arrested for $1,100 Sextortion of Indian Woman – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a self-acclaimed spiritualist, Odigie Moses, in Ekpoma, Edo State, for allegedly tricking an Indian woman into taking a naked spiritual bath, recording the session without her consent, and then blackmailing her for $1,100 .

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a self-acclaimed spiritualist, Odigie Moses, over his alleged involvement in a $1,100 sextortion scheme targeting an Indian woman . The anti-graft agency disclosed in a statement on Friday, August 7, 2026, that the suspect was apprehended in Ekpoma, Edo State, following an investigation into the alleged crime. The arrest forms part of the EFCC’s ongoing efforts to combat the growing menace of cybercrime and online blackmail, which have become increasingly sophisticated and transnational in nature, exploiting victims across borders through digital platforms.

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According to the EFCC, Moses allegedly misrepresented himself on the social media payment platform Zelle as possessing spiritual healing powers capable of solving life-threatening challenges, a claim designed to attract vulnerable individuals seeking quick solutions to personal problems. The victim, an Indian woman seeking spiritual intervention for personal problems, contacted him believing he could help her overcome the difficulties she was facing, unaware that she was being lured into a carefully orchestrated scheme. The suspect subsequently deceived her into taking a naked spiritual bath, a ritual he presented as necessary for the healing process, which he recorded live without her permission, betraying the trust she had placed in him. Following the recording, the suspect allegedly threatened to release the explicit video publicly unless the victim paid him money, using the threat of public humiliation to extort funds from her. Under duress and to prevent the circulation of her nude footage, the woman transferred **$1,100** to the suspect, hoping the payment would put an end to the ordeal. “Investigation by the EFCC revealed that the victim had to pay the sum of $1,100 to the suspect in order to prevail on him not to release her nudity to the public,” the anti-graft agency stated, confirming the extent of the blackmail.

The EFCC described the act as sextortion, a form of image-based abuse involving threats to share nude or sexual images to coerce victims into complying with financial demands, a crime that has become increasingly common in the digital age as perpetrators exploit the anonymity and reach of the internet. The commission confirmed that investigations are ongoing and that Moses will be charged to court upon their conclusion, ensuring that the suspect faces the full weight of the law for his alleged crimes. The EFCC’s swift action in this case sends a strong message to cybercriminals that law enforcement agencies are committed to protecting victims and prosecuting offenders, regardless of where they operate from.

Edo Spiritualist Arrested for $1,100 Sextortion of Indian Woman – EFCC

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Fake Agency Director Blew N400m on Cars, Relatives, Luxury Items – Police

Published

6 hours ago

August 8, 2026

Trends Admin

Prince Adeniyi Mathew Adeyemi

Fake Agency Director Blew N400m on Cars, Relatives, Luxury Items – Police

The Nigeria Police Force has uncovered how Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who posed as Director-General of a fictitious Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) and Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), squandered N400 million on vehicles, family members, and luxury items. The investigation also revealed that he obtained an additional N100 million loan from a microfinance bank to sustain his extravagant lifestyle .

The Nigeria Police Force has conducted a comprehensive investigation into a case of alleged criminal conspiracy, forgery, impersonation, obtaining money under false pretences, theft of public funds, and money laundering , following a petition from the Chief of Staff to the President that exposed the activities of fraudsters operating within government circles. The probe was initiated following a written petition dated October 17, 2025, from Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, addressed to the Director-General of the Department of State Services and copied to the Inspector-General of Police . The petition drew attention to the activities of fraudsters forwarding official appointment letters purportedly from the Chief of Staff’s office, a revelation that prompted immediate security intervention and a comprehensive investigation into the matter.

The Inspector-General of Police directed the IGP-Monitoring Unit to investigate the case, setting in motion a chain of events that would uncover the full extent of the deception . The unit immediately commenced investigation and arrested the principal suspect, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who claimed to be Director-General of a fictitious Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC)/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) , on October 27, 2025 . His statement was obtained under caution, in which he claimed he received the fake appointment letter from one Babatunde Dolapo Tanimola, who is now deceased, a convenient explanation that would later be contradicted by forensic evidence . The suspect was subsequently charged to Court in November 2025 for criminal conspiracy and forgery, but the investigation was far from complete as more evidence continued to emerge. A second petition from the Chief of Staff dated June 29, 2026, was referred to the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre for discreet investigation and report . The investigation team obtained voluntary statements from the complainant and seven witnesses, along with cautionary statements from 22 suspects whose names emerged during the investigation, revealing the extensive network of individuals who had been drawn into the fraudulent scheme . The team also forwarded specimen signatures of the complainant and one Mr. Segun Imohiosen for forensic analysis, a critical step that would prove decisive in establishing the forgery .

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Analysis of the suspect’s World Entrepreneurs Nigeria Ltd, GTBank account No. 0695674387 revealed that the suspect received a total of N380 million in four tranches from Divine Dopacy Nigeria Ltd, a company owned by Oyekunle Gbenga Collins, who was allegedly lured by the suspect to part with the funds under the false pretence of facilitating the award of a N2.8 billion contract for the renovation of an official residence purportedly allocated to the suspect by the EFCC . Collins had been promised a N2.8 billion contract for the renovation of an official residence purportedly allocated to the suspect by the EFCC, a promise that proved entirely fictitious . The payments were made between May and July 2025: N100 million on May 16, another N100 million on May 22, a third N100 million on May 28, and N80 million on June 20, 2025, demonstrating the systematic nature of the fraud . Further analysis on the account revealed that the suspect used the proceeds for the purchase of two personal vehicles and transferred large sums to his personal accounts and family members, revealing the true destination of the funds he had fraudulently obtained . This directly contradicted Adeyemi’s claim that he converted the total N400 million to USD and handed it over to the complainant through the late Babatunde Dolapo Tanimola, exposing his lies about the fate of the money . Analysis conducted on the suspect’s Sunshine Confectionery and Catering Services Access Bank Plc Account No. 1379777557 revealed that the suspect received N20 million from the same Divine Dopacy Nigeria Ltd on July 29, 2025, bringing the total fraudulently obtained funds to N400 million . The suspect also laundered the proceeds through personal expenses and donations, again contradicting his claim about the funds being converted to dollars and proving that he had systematically defrauded his victims . Police investigations revealed that Adeyemi also obtained an N100 million loan from a microfinance bank to sustain his high-end lifestyle, indicating that even the substantial proceeds from his fraudulent activities were insufficient to fund his lavish spending habits .

Response letter from Handwriting Experts dated March 18, 2026, confirmed that the signatures on the disputed documents are not the same as the signature of the complainant, proving the purported letters of appointment were forged and not issued by the Chief of Staff, thereby dismantling Adeyemi’s claims of legitimacy . One Mr. Segun Imohiosen, the former Director, Information and Public Relations, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, confirmed that he did not sign the purported Mandate and Terms of Reference for the pioneering office of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council dated January 6, 2025, further exposing the extent of the forgery and the lengths to which the suspect had gone to create an elaborate web of deception . The police investigation identified five top government officials who played a major role in facilitating the commission of the offences, individuals whose negligence or complicity enabled the fraud to succeed . They have been recommended for trial depending on the opinion of the Director of Public Prosecution, meaning they could face legal consequences for their roles in the scandal . The officials include two directors in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, a Special Assistant in the Budget Office, an Assistant Director with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, and a seconded staff from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation . The report stated: “Investigation further revealed that some key staff of ministries and agencies played a major role in facilitating the commission of the offences” , confirming that institutional failures had enabled the fraud to persist . The ICPC’s investigation separately identified weaknesses in verification procedures, inter-agency coordination, and internal controls in these MDAs that were exploited by the suspect, pointing to systemic issues that needed to be addressed to prevent similar frauds in the future .

The suspect successfully smuggled forged documents to the Offices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of Service of the Federation, the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, convincing multiple government agencies of his legitimacy through a combination of forged paperwork and personal charm . Staff in these offices negligently processed and approved all requests made by the suspect, leading to the fictitious agency receiving an Administrative Code, office space at the Federal Secretariat, official vehicles, Authorized Establishment, Administrative Waiver to recruit 300 staff, Secondment of Officers, opening of two accounts with the CBN (USD and GBP), Provisional Self-Accounting Status, and inclusion in the 2026 Appropriation budget . The report noted that staff in these offices failed to conduct due diligence, thereby allowing the forged documents smuggled by the principal suspect to get approvals, a failure that has now been identified as a major weakness in government administrative processes . The ICPC, in its separate investigation ordered by President Bola Tinubu on July 7, 2026, uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by Adeyemi: the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP) . The suspect used fake legislative instruments styled as enabling Acts to facilitate their creation and relied on them to open bank accounts, further demonstrating the scale and sophistication of his fraudulent enterprise .

Fake Agency Director Blew N400m on Cars, Relatives, Luxury Items – Police

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DSS Arrests Three More Suspects Over Nasarawa University Professor’s Kidnap

Published

6 hours ago

August 8, 2026

Trends Admin

DSS Arrests Three More Suspects Over Nasarawa University Professor’s Kidnap

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested three additional suspects in connection with the abduction of Professor Samuel Avengbe Okunsebor, Dean of Agriculture at Nasarawa State University. The arrests bring the total number of suspects in custody to five, following intelligence-led operations that also led to the professor’s rescue less than 48 hours after he was taken .

The three suspects were apprehended on Friday night at a local brothel along the Mararraban Akunza axis of the Lafia-Makurdi highway, according to a security source familiar with the operation . The arrests followed sustained intelligence gathering into the kidnapping network responsible for the abduction of the university don. The operation demonstrated the DSS’s commitment to tracking down all members of the criminal syndicate, leaving no stone unturned in the investigation. Security sources have identified the suspects as 25-year-old Yakubu Abubakar (also known as Black or Starboy), who hails from the Doemak community in Plateau State; 37-year-old Usman Abubakar Mairiga, who is Hausa; and 27-year-old Sale Babauro Abubakar, who is Fulani . The suspects are currently in the custody of the DSS Nasarawa State Command for further investigation, with their detention backed by a valid warrant obtained from a magistrate’s court, ensuring that the arrests are legally sound and that the suspects’ rights are respected throughout the legal process.

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Professor Okunsebor was abducted in the early hours of Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at Mile Uku, a border community between Lafia and Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Areas . Gunmen reportedly stormed the area at midnight and whisked the professor away to an unknown location, sparking immediate concern among the university community and the wider public. Following intelligence-driven operations and sustained surveillance, DSS operatives successfully located and rescued the professor at about 3:00 p.m. on Friday, July 17 – less than 48 hours after his abduction . He was rescued unharmed, a testament to the professionalism and dedication of the security operatives involved in the operation. After the rescue, the DSS formally handed over the professor to his family members in the presence of senior university officials, including the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kitso Ngbargu . Professor Okunsebor was subsequently taken to the Federal University of Lafia Teaching Hospital for medical evaluation and routine checks after his time in captivity, ensuring that he received the necessary medical attention following his ordeal.

Two suspects – a man and a woman – were initially arrested during the operation that led to the professor’s rescue . The latest arrests bring the total number of suspects in custody to five, significantly strengthening the case against the kidnapping network. The management of Nasarawa State University expressed profound appreciation to the DSS for what it described as a swift, professional, and successful rescue operation . A senior university official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated: “The university is greatly indebted to the DSS for working round the clock to ensure the timely rescue of our amiable Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture” . The official added: “Given how the DSS has been meticulously prosecuting suspects in courts, we have little doubt that both suspects will soon have their day in court” , reflecting the university’s confidence in the judicial process and the quality of the investigation.

Security sources have confirmed that investigations are ongoing to dismantle the full kidnapping network and determine the roles played by the arrested suspects . Efforts have been intensified to apprehend other members of the criminal syndicate who remain at large, with the DSS continuing to gather intelligence and track down those responsible for the abduction. The successful rescue and series of arrests have been hailed by residents and members of the university community as a major breakthrough in the fight against kidnapping in Nasarawa State . The swift action by security agencies has been widely praised, reinforcing public confidence in the ability of law enforcement to respond to security threats and protect citizens from criminal activities.