Crime
Man’s Shocking Attempt To Use Son For Money Ritual Uncovered
The Zone 2 Police Command has apprehended a 50-year-old man from Benin Republic, Pome Banda, along with three accomplices, on suspicion of luring a nine-year-old boy from the same country with the intention of performing a money ritual.
According to Mr. Mohammed, during the course of their plot, the Zone 2 Criminal Investigation Department received information about the group’s activities.
As part of their operation, the police posed as a herbalist willing to assist them in using the boy for the money ritual.
Under this pretense, the operatives engaged in discussions with the boy’s father, Benjamin Balobi, who resides in Nigeria, as well as two Nigerian nationals, Segun Shile, and Ige Koshelu.
Mr. Banda left his hometown, Ajah Jakatome in Benin Republic, and arrived in Nigeria on May 30, 2023, with his son. He convinced the young boy that they were coming to secure a housemaid job for him.
Once in Nigeria, the boy was handed over to a man known as Baba Shina, who is currently on the run, to work as a house help.
Mr. Mohammed disclosed that following a month of living with Baba Shina, the boy was taken back to Cotonou, and a sum of N35,000 was given to his father in his presence, disguised as a salary to confuse the young boy.
Between June 17 and 23, Mr. Banda, after finalizing arrangements with the other suspects, brought the boy back from Benin Republic to Nigeria for the purpose of conducting a money-making ritual.
The four suspects involved in the crime were apprehended at Sango Ota in Ogun State, Nigeria, which was the presumed location of the native doctor they were working with. The suspects have all confessed to their involvement in the nefarious act.
The AIG stated that the four suspects involved in the crime were apprehended at Sango Ota in Ogun State, Nigeria, which was the presumed location of the native doctor they were working with.
He further said that the suspects have all confessed to their involvement in the nefarious act.
The authorities stated that the investigation is ongoing, and once it is completed, the suspects will be charged to court to face appropriate legal consequences for their actions.
During the interrogation at the Zone 2 Police Command Headquarters in Onikan, Lagos, the boy’s father, Mr. Banda who communicated through an interpreter confessed that he resorted to attempting a money ritual using his fifth child because of his impoverished condition.
In his quest to execute this sinister plan, he contacted his brother, Mr. Balobi, who resides in Nigeria, seeking his assistance in finding a job as a house help for his son.
However, Mr. Banda’s ulterior motive was to also involve his brother in the money ritual scheme.
Mr. Balobi managed to secure a person named Baba Shina to act as the master of the boy, who was to be employed as a house help.
Furthermore, Mr. Banda connected with a Nigerian individual named Ige Koshelu and discussed with him the specific details of what he wanted his son to do in relation to the money ritual.
He said he met Mr Koshelu in the Ilaro area of Ogun, who then contacted Mr Shile, who allegedly made arrangements for a herbalist in the Owode Yewa area in Ogun.
Mr Banda said Mr Shile became the middleman and coordinator between Mr Ige, himself and the suspected herbalist, who they never knew was a policeman.
On the part of Mr Balobi, the boy’s father called him to know what he was doing in Nigeria and wanted him to help get a place where his son would work as a house boy.
Mr Balobi said he told Mr Banda that the job he saw paid N5,000 salary monthly.
“It was later he opened up to me that he wanted to use his son for a money ritual; that is when I connected him with one Baba Shina, who is on the run now. The boy was taken to Baba Shina’s house,” he said.
According to Mr. Koshelu’s statement, when Mr. Banda brought his son from the Benin Republic, it was Baba Shina, the boy’s master in Nigeria, who contacted him. Baba Shina informed Mr. Koshelu about their plan to use the boy for a money ritual.
Mr. Koshelu, however, claimed that he had no knowledge or expertise in rituals. Despite this, he assured Mr. Banda and Baba Shina that he would try to help them by reaching out to a friend who might know a herbalist or be able to assist them in their quest for a money-making ritual.
He said “It was a friend of mine whom I contacted that promised to get someone for them in the Oja Odan area of Ogun, who finally helped them.
“It was that my friend who later took us to the herbalist’s house at Owode Yewa, and from Owode Yewa, we moved again to Sango to meet the herbalist. Unfortunately, we were arrested at the scene where the policemen were already waiting.”
The quest for peace in the southeast of Nigeria has seen troops of the Joint Task Force South-East, “Operation UDO KA,” take out 13 armed members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and arrest three kidnappers.
The task force Spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonah Unuakhalu, revealed this in a statement in Enugu, on Monday.
According to him, the feat was in furtherance of the troops’ clearance operations to make the southeast safe and peaceful throughout the festive season.
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Lt. Col. Unuakhalu said that the Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Hassan Dada, had called on all well-meaning citizens to continue to support the joint task force.
He opined that citizens of the southeast can do this by providing timely, reliable, and credible information.
In his words, “Remember, security is everybody’s business. It is not in the hands of security agencies alone.
“When you see something, say something by calling the JTF Operation UDO KA’s toll-free line -193 and press Option 2 — to speak directly to Headquarters Operation UDO KA.”
Offering more details, Lt. Col. Unuakhalu said that troops of Sector 1 of the task force on December 21, conducted an ambush operation along Amouka-Umouka Road in 9th Mile, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, to deny kidnappers freedom of action.
In the course of the operation, he asserted, troops came into contact with the kidnappers, and in a firefight ensued, and the troops neutralised one while others escaped with gunshot wounds.
“Items recovered at the scene were: one AK-47 rifle, two magazines, and 17 rounds of 7.62mm Special ammunition; two cell phones; one power bank; three ATM cards; one wristwatch; a bunch of keys; and the sum of N8,900,” he said.
He added that on December 16, troops of Sector 5 conducted a clearance operation within Mbosi and Isseke general areas in the Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra, where three IPOB members were neutralised.
“Items recovered included: one AK-47 rifle, two loaded AK-47 magazines, and three Dane guns, while a house belonging to one of the irredentist commanders and a shrine used for their fortification were destroyed.
“The gallant troops had earlier recovered five water gel Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and two batteries used for detonating the IEDs while on routine patrol along roads within Ihiala-Orlu, Lilu, Agba Lilu, and Orsumoghu general areas in Anambra State,” he added.
In a related development, he explained that on December 14, troops acting on credible and reliable information from members of the public arrested three suspected kidnappers at Itungwa in the Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia.
He said that on receiving the information about the movement of the suspected kidnappers, troops quickly mounted a snap checkpoint to apprehend the suspects.
“The suspects operating in a stolen tricycle on sighting the troops attempted to make a U-turn but were apprehended.
“Items recovered included: one AK-47 rifle, one G3 rifle, one locally-made single-barrel pistol, 10 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 34 rounds of 5.5mm ammunition, two AK-47 rifle magazines, two G3 rifle magazines, and one live cartridge.
“Other items recovered were: one mobile phone, the sum of N6,600, and two Knapsack bags used for concealing the weapons,” he said.
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has urged the public to disregard the Amnesty International’s (AI) report on the #EndBadGovernance protests, which it described as false, misleading and calculated to tarnish its image.
The NPF has demanded an apology from the AI for its report dated November 28, 2024.
Biztellers reports that in the report, the AI accused the NPF of extrajudicial killings during the #EndBadGovernance protests, and that at least 24 lives were lost in six northern states.
The report, now being refuted by the NPF was titled “Bloody August: Nigeria Government’s Violent Crackdown on #EndBadGovernance Protests”.
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The NPF maintained that its findings were at variance with the AI’s allegations.
The NPF’s position was made public on Sunday by its Spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi during a media briefing in Abuja.
Adejobi asserted that a special investigative panel had been constituted to verify the claims.
He highlighted that the Police’s panel, in collaboration with commissioners of police from the affected states, conducted extensive investigations and compiled a comprehensive report which pointed out inaccuracies in the AI’s allegations.
In his words, “Amnesty International is advised to reflect on its frequent false reporting on Nigeria’s law enforcement activities and ensure its reports are accurate and contain a true and fair representation of events affecting national security and public safety.
“Accurate reporting of facts is essential to the integrity of any international organisation, and Amnesty International should not be an exception.”
Adejobi added that the Police would write to demand a retraction of the report as well as a public apology for the alleged inaccuracies.
“The Nigeria Police Force will, in due course, write to Amnesty International to demand the retraction of this report from the public domain along with a public apology. The Nigeria Police Force remains resolute in protecting the rights of all citizens while ensuring the security and stability of the nation.
“We, therefore, urge the public to be wary of sensational reports designed to incite mistrust and weaken confidence in law enforcement institutions,” Adejobi said.
On the Police’s findings in Borno, Adejobi maintained that the Police didn’t use grenades as claimed by the organisation.
He said, “In Borno State, it was established that the protesters were violent, engaging in widespread looting, pillaging, and wanton destruction of public and private property.
“For example, the Skill Acquisition Centre of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees was looted and vandalised.
“The warehouse of the World Food Programme, located on Baga/Maimalari Barracks Road, Maiduguri, was also looted, with several items belonging to the international organisation destroyed and stolen by some of the protesters.
“Therefore, the claims by Amnesty International that the police threw a hand grenade from a convoy of vehicles into a filling station killing three persons is a blatant falsehood and leaves right-thinking members of society dismayed at this reported falsehood by an international agency that ought to act in accordance with international norms and standards of fair and honest reporting of human rights violations in the country.”
On Niger State, Adejobi said the claim that three individuals were shot dead in Suleja was debunked in the police findings.
Adejobi said the alleged killing of a 21-year-old in Katsina was also found to be unsubstantiated, adding that local sources confirmed that no such incident occurred.
In the same vein, on Kaduna State, Adejobi asserted that contrary to the AI’s report, no protests occurred in Kaduna on October 1, 2024, and no police killings were recorded.
He said instead, an incident involving the Nigerian Army (NA) was identified and openly investigated.
According to Adejobi, the AI reported the deaths of two women and a man during protests in Jigawa, but the Police’s investigations revealed no such killings, and evidence suggested that the lone fatality was caused by protester violence, not Police action.
On Kano State, Adejobi said the report alleged 12 deaths in Kano due to police actions, stating that investigations indicated that these deaths resulted from violent confrontations involving looters and criminals, not the Police’s activity.
Authorities in Mexico arrested a 31-year-old man on Sunday after he attempted to redirect a domestic flight to the United States, forcing an emergency landing in Guadalajara.
The Volaris Airbus A320 had departed from León, Guanajuato, at 7:17 a.m. local time and was bound for Tijuana.
However, about 45 minutes into the journey, the flight was diverted after the man tried to gain access to the cockpit.
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According to the Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection, the man “assaulted a flight attendant and attempted to enter the cockpit to divert the flight to the United States.”
The crew, who managed to subdue the suspect, issued an alert to make an emergency landing at Guadalajara International Airport.
The man, reportedly traveling with family, was taken into custody upon landing.
In a statement, Volaris said the suspect claimed to have been acting under duress.
“The aggressor told them a close relative had been kidnapped and, upon taking off from León, was threatened to be killed if he went to Tijuana,” the airline said.
Authorities have not disclosed how many passengers were on board.
The flight resumed its journey to Tijuana after the incident, arriving without further complications.
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