A 47-year-old Muslim cleric identified as Alhaji Ibrahim Ahamido, took to his heels after a botched attempt to turn N350, 000 into N5 million with a charm in the Lekki area of Lagos State.
Ahamido was later apprehended by the men of the Maroko Police Division after a manhunt for defrauding the victim, a trader identified as Moses Sarah who he boasted to of having powers to multiply money with prayers.
The self-acclaimed cleric popularly known as Alfa, on Monday, February 22, 2016 collected N350, 000 from Sarah and promised to boost her business by turning the money to N5million only to run away with the money.
Punch reports that he gave his girlfriend, Musa Hawa N100, 000 from the money to ‘renew their love’.
A source said: “The woman initially did not believe. So, he promised to help her bring out her child, who at the time was arrested by the police for an offence he committed. He prepared some concoction for her, and just like that, the woman’s son was released.
“Sarah was immediately convinced and she trusted him,” the source disclosed, adding that she later asked him for help concerning her business, which was not doing well..
The victim said, “I told him I would be travelling to Ghana in December 2015, and I would return in January 2016. He gave me something to put under my pillow. He said when I return from my trip, I should check the pillow and the N5m would be there.
“When I returned, I checked under the pillow, but I did not see any money. I called him to inform him, and he said it was my fault because I did not come back on time.
“He said the money came out from the container he gave me, but when I did not pack it on time, it went back. He then asked me to pay another N9, 000 so that he could make another charm to repair the damage.
“It was after I gave him the money and he disappeared that I knew I was dealing with a fraudster.”
The suspect however, claimed he didn’t mean to defraud the victim and promised to refund the money since Sarah’s blood was not compatible with the charm.
He said: “I did not collect up to N350, 000 from her. She even gave me the money in bits. The total is N150, 000.
“I will refund the money since her blood was not compatible with the prayers.”
The suspect’s girlfriend, Hawa denied collecting N100, 000 from him.
She said, “I came to Lagos about 15 years ago. It was about three months ago that Alhaji came to me and said he wanted to date me.
“Three days later, he bought a wrapper for me. I did not know where he got it from. When he continued buying me more wrappers, I suspected something was wrong and I started keeping them so that if a police case arose, I would be able to defend myself.
“He bought me only four wrappers. He never gave me any N100, 000.”
Ahamido was arraigned alongside his girlfriend before an Igbosere Magistrate’s Court on two counts of obtaining under false pretences.
The police prosecutor, Sergeant Cyriacus Osuji, said the offences were punishable under sections 409 and 312 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.
The charge read in part, “That you, Ibrahim Ahamido, and Musa Hawa, on February 22, 2016, at Marwa Waterside, Lekki, Lagos, in the Eti-osa Local Government Area, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did obtain by false pretences the sum of N350, 000 from one Moses Sarah, with the pretence of making more money for her.”
Ahamido pleaded guilty to the charge, while his girlfriend, pleaded not guilty and was admitted to bail in the sum of N100, 000 with two sureties in like sum.
The magistrate, Mrs. J.O.A. Adepoju, adjourned the case until Wednesday, March 2, 2016 for facts and sentence of the suspect.
