OPERATIVES of the Ogun State Police Command have apprehended a suspected fraudster, Abduljelili Tajudeen, for duping unsuspecting members of the public while claiming he was an Islamic cleric.
According to the state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, Tajudeen (41), had disguised as an Islamic spiritualist, duping one Alhaji Bello Kadiri of several hundreds of thousands of naira and his Toyota 4Runner Jeep with registration number EKY333EA.
Iliyasu said the fraud began when a friend of Alhaji Kadiri introduced him to Tajudeen when his (Bello) wife was pregnant and was about to have a Caesarean Section.
“Tajudeen then said he would perform some spiritual works for the woman and she would not need to undergo the C-Section.
“The Alfa collected N300,000 from Alhaji Kadiri and 99 pieces of N1,000 and 99 pieces of N500 notes.
“Despite all these, the woman didn’t deliver naturally, as she still had the Caesarean Section.
“After a while, the Alfa informed Alhaji Kadiri that he had a dream that one of his vehicles was involved in an accident and he died in the process.
“He then instructed Alhaji Kadiri to bring the vehicle, saying that he would perform some spiritual cleansing on it and that he should bring N150,000 for the spiritual work.
“When Alhaji Kadiri took the vehicle to the Alfa, he (Alfa) said he should lock it up and not open it again until after the spiritual cleansing.
“Meanwhile, Alhaji Kadiri had N200,000 in the vehicle, as well as his mobile phones, Infinix and Nokia 230 phones, but Alfa said he should return after a week to take his vehicle.
“The man returned after a week, but the Alfa told him he was yet to complete the cleansing, and that he should return after a month.
“After a month, when Alhaji Kadiri returned, the Alfa said God had instructed that his client should not use the vehicle again as he would die if he ever did.
“However, in April 2017, Alhaji Kadiri was with a police Inspector in a vehicle, listening to a Yoruba radio programme about a suspected fraudster whose case was similar to the one Alhaji Bello was experiencing.
“He opened up to the police Inspector about what he had experienced with Alfa Tajudeen, and that was how the Inspector took up the case,” the police boss said.
However, while speaking with Saturday Tribune, Tajudeen, who claimed he also sold building materials, confessed to his crime, while pleading that it was the devil’s work and that he would never return to fraud if he regained his freedom.
“I’m an Islamic cleric at Owode-Ishaga at Idi Iroko area of the state. Alhaji Kadiri was my customer. He has been of tremendous help to me financially. I collected some money from him for the progress of his work.
“It was true I had a dream concerning all his vehicles that they would be involved in accidents that would claim his life. I gave him some things to rub on the vehicles.
“All the things the police said I told the Alhaji Kadiri are true. I don’t know why things took that turn. I only want the police and Alhaji Bello to have mercy on me. People knew Alhaji with me and he’s been helping me. I have never had a police case in my life,” Tajudeen said.