22-yr-old herbalist who defrauds women with ‘spiritual problems’

A 22-year-old herbalist identified as James Johnson alongside his accomplice Emmanuel Emmana, 28 have both been nabbed by men of the Lagos State Police Command for abducting a 17-year-old girl.

According to reports, Johnson and his accomplice were both arrested at a hotel in Ajah area of Lagos which they reportedly used as their hideout after they abducted the victim under false pretences of fortifying her against enemies.

Johnson had earlier approached the victim identified as Bilkis at her mother’s shop while hawking herbs where he told her that he had a vision that her enemies were plotting to kill her.

He told the victim to go purchase coconut and salt which he would use for her cleansing which the victim purchased.

Luck however ran out for the suspect as he lured his victim to a nearby hotel where he was to carry out the fortification as a woman whom he had defrauded on the same spurious vision saw him at the premises and raised an alarm.

Johnson and his accomplice were later arrested on July 8, 2018, by policemen attached the Elemoro division with the suspect confessing to have defrauded five other women in similar circumstance.

The suspect said; “I started selling herbs in January 2018. Emmana later joined me and we hawked together. We made people to believe that we have spiritual powers. We have defrauded five persons.

There was a woman I collected N30,000 from in May 2018. I took the woman to a village called Kosilu, Ogun State, to meet one man. I was planning to collect N1.5m from her for special prayers, but she later discovered that it was a fraud.”

Another victim who doesn’t want her name mentioned said Johnson deceived her into believing she has spiritual problem collecting the sum of N5,000 from her and even slept with her at a hotel.

The victim said; “We met each other around 9pm that day along the road. He told me some spiritual things about my life and asked me to see him at the hotel the following morning. I went there and he collected N5,000 from me for special prayers. He had sex with me as part of the cleansing and collected N1,000 when I was leaving. He said I owed him N2,000 balance and asked me to come back on Sunday, July 8. I didn’t meet him when I got to the hotel that day. I was waiting for him when some policemen brought him to the hotel.”