By Jethro Ibileke
An 18-year-old indigene of Kano state, Adamu Usman, has narrated how he was “arrested by some juju in Esama’s residence” when he attempted to steal some artefacts.
Juju is a fetish or charm believed by Africans to have magical or supernatural powers.
Spokesman to the Edo State Police Command, SP Moses Joel Yamu, who paraded the suspect with others arrested for various offences, disclosed that the artefacts are about ₦500 million.
Usman told journalists that he was deceived by one of his friends, now at large, to come to Esama’s house to steal the artefacts but was held down by juju.
“I was deceived by the man that took me there. He did not tell me we were going to steal, but when we got there, he said I should jump the fence and I jumped the fence,” he said.
The Command’s spokesman who paraded the suspects on behalf of the State Commissioner of Police, Nemi Iwo, disclosed that the arrest followed reports of theft of artefacts from the residence of the Esama of Benin, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion.
He said: “Following reports of theft of artefacts from the residence of the Esama of Benin, Chief Dr Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion located at Okada Avenue, GRA Benin City, operatives of the Command on surveillance around the residence arrested one Adamu Usman ‘m’ 18yrs on 23/07/2024 at about 0130hrs while trying to steal artefacts. The worth of the already stolen artefacts is estimated at Five Hundred Million Naira (N500,000,000.00).
“Upon interrogation, the suspect’s confession led to the arrest of another suspect named Etuk Bassey ‘m’ 36yrs who happened to be the driver who usually conveys these stolen artefacts. The suspects have confessed to the crime while efforts to track and arrest other fleeing suspects are on.”
Also paraded was 27-year-old Ibrahim Yahaya, who was arrested for kidnapping Mr Igbinosun Evans, a resident of the Ugbogui community.
The victim reportedly paid a ransom of ₦7,000,000 before he was released. There were also Mustapha Suleiman (27) and Isaac Joseph (25), who were arrested for having a Toyota Rav 4 SUV with registration number EKY 855 JJ, believed to have been stolen.
“During interrogation, the suspects confessed to having stolen the vehicle from Lagos State and were looking for a buyer to sell the vehicle [in Benin].
“The Lagos State Command had been contacted for take over of the case for further investigation,” Yamu said.