Joy Anyim
Three Islamic clerics, Aliu Abdulfatai, 50, Sule Adebayo, 36 and Lekan Olokodana, 31, are in police dragnet for defrauding a real estate marketer, in Ogun State.
The arrest of the suspects, followed a complaint from the marketer, a female, (name withheld), to the Adigbe Police Station, that the suspects had contacted her, and indicated interest to buy a large expanse of Land.
The victim claimed they had, however, defrauded her of N70,000 and also had forceful carnal knowledge of her.
Based on the complaint, the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Augustine Opadile, detailed detectives to go after the hoodlums and bring them to justice.
The directive paid off as the suspects who are notorious for the act were arrested promptly.
Giving details of the arrest, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the suspects have been on the wanted list of the police for several fraud-related matters.
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Oyeyemi said, “The Ogun Police Command on Monday, September 16, 2019, arrested three self-acclaimed Islamic clerics who specialised in swindling the unsuspecting members of the public of their hard-earned money as well as having unlawful carnal knowledge of their female victims.
“They were arrested following a report by one of their female victims (name withheld) who reported at Adigbe Police Station.
“The complainant who is a marketer with a popular property/real estate company was said to be on marketing assignment when she came across the suspects who claimed to be Islamic clerics and indicated interest in purchasing large expanse of land which they claimed they want to use for construction of their mosque.
“There and then, they introduced the issue of special prayer to their victim from where they came out with seeing a vision that the victim is under a spell which needs special deliverance prayer to cast out.
“As a result of this, they succeeded in fraudulently obtaining the sum N70,000, from her, after they lured her into their house where one of them forcefully raped her.
“On the strength of her complaint, the DPO Adigbe division detailed his detectives to go after these hoodlums and bring them to justice.
“Their efforts paid off when three amongst them were apprehended while waiting for the victim to bring money they demanded, and one of them escaped.
“On interrogation, they confessed being fraudsters and that has been their means of livelihood.
“It was also revealed that one of them has used the proceed of their fraudulent act to build a private school in Ikorodu, Lagos State.”
Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police, CP Bashir Makama, has ordered a full-scale investigation into the activities of the hoodlums with the view to charging them to court as soon as possible.