The police in Ekiti State has busted a strange building said to be the operational base of suspected swindlers. The building is tucked away in a bush along Igede Road in Ilawe-Ekiti community in Ekiti South Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
It contained some strange sculptural images which the owner, Adeboye Adegbola, 35, described as traditional images representing some gods in Yoruba pantheon. There were also some strange fetish objects such as dry bones, herbs and paintings among others in the building which the police alleged were materials being used to swindle unsuspecting members of the public.
Explaining how the weird place was discovered through some police informants, Ekiti State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Alberto Adeyemi , said: “About a week ago, some residents of Ilawe gave our State Investigative Bureau (SIB) department tips that they noticed some strangely big and exotic vehicles coming towards the place and going out after some time. They said this strange development raised their suspicion that some ritualists or kidnappers may have erected an hideout inside the nearby bush as many of the people iinside the vehicles were also strange to them.
“So, we sent some of our plain-clothed officers to investigate and they found out this place. You can see that it is an unusual building containing very weird objects that are probably used for fetish purposes. But when we interrogated the man who claimed to be the owner of the place, he confessed that he was using the place to play on callers’ intelligence so as to get money from them. He also claimed to be a herbalist and some spiritualist.
“Our suspicion about the man is that he is using the place as hideout for kidnappers, ritual killings and 419 business but we are still investigating him. We want to assure members of the public that we would give them best services and they should continue to give us vital information on any strange development in their communities.”
But denying the allegations by the police, Adegbola said: ” I am a Babalawo and people consult me for spiritual helps. All the images you see which have been described as weird are only representing some gods native to Yoruba land.
We worship these gods and I have erected them so that people seeking help can identify them and also be convinced and then pay more than what they would have paid ordinarily. I am not a kidnapper nor a ritual killer. I am only trying to be smart but building these images you called strange so that people can pay more for my services, ” he said.
Meanwhile, traditional worshippers in the town disowned Adegbola, Pa Joseph Olufadeju who identified himself as head of traditional worshippers in the town, said: “I don’t know the man and we never knew he was here or has started anything here. If indeed he is what he claims to be, a Babalawo, he would have reached out to us before he started the business here because that is our practice. I will just warn members of. The public to beware of people like him so they don’t fall prey in hands of wrong traditional spiritualists.”
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