Woman Swindled For Wanting Share In Mysterious Dollar
The Oluyole Security Surveillance Team in Ibadan, Oyo State, has arrested a 35-year-old gang member, Tokunbo Aderibigbe, for allegedly defrauding a woman.
Aderibigbe and his gang were said to have fraudulently obtained
N250,000 from their victim, Mrs Yetunde Alabi.
It was gathered that Aderibigbe had boarded an Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State-bound car when she fell into the hands of the fraudsters.
Unknown to her, the driver who picked her and another passenger in the vehicle belonged to the same gang.
It was learnt that after she was picked with the man she perceived to be a passenger, a discussion came up on a carton of dollars in the car boot, which required a certain amount of Nigerian currency to be used to cleanse it off the charms placed on it. The three people were tasked to contribute N250,000 each to be able to wash and purify the US dollars.
The gang member, who posed as a passenger, Aderibigbe, reportedly showed interest in giving his part of the needed cash so that he would get N100 million as his reward after the cleansing.
The woman, who had no money, was convinced to look for it and reportedly got down at her destination, borrowed the money, and returned to Ibadan to give it to the gang.
Elated by the easy way their victim was swayed, the gang, not yet satisfied, demanded another N210,000 from her, telling her that the amount contributed was not enough to cleanse the charm placed on the dollars.
However, the woman, after it dawned on her that she had been conned, promised to pay the agreed fee. This, it was further gathered, led to the arrest of the suspect while other gang members fled.
The OSST Commandant, Olusegun Idowu, who confirmed the arrest, said that the gang leader, when interrogated, confessed to his involvement in the unlawful act but said that those who had been their victims were greedy ones who desired to get money from a source unknown to them.
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In an interview, the arrested suspect, Aderibigbe, said that he was compelled to join the gang after he was swindled.
He said, “I’m from Akure, Ondo State, but my mother is from Ibadan. I live at Oranyan. I joined the gang after falling victim. I brought oranges to Ibadan for sale at Oje market in Ibadan. I was well known there and popularly called Baba Ekiti. I was duped on October 12 at Boluwaji area.
“I was told by the driver and the passengers while in a commercial cab, I boarded that I would get money through the dollars they had in their car boot. However, they said a charm had been placed on the money, and there was a need to go to an Alfa to destroy the charm. They asked me to follow them. They collected the N590,000 I had with me as proceeds of sale. When I came to the realisation that I had been conned, they asked me to be patient, saying that I would get my money back if I joined them in the business.
“I came back to them on October 25. They wore suspicious looks, believing I brought security personnel. Later, they accepted me as one of them. I started living in Ibadan as a squatter with someone. I could not go back to Akure because I could not pay those I bought the oranges from.”
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
