I connived with my friends to use my son for money rituals so I can feed my other nine children — 50-yr-old farmer

A 50-year-old Beninese farmer, Poni Bada, has been arrested by police operatives in Ogun State over alleged attempt to use his nine-year-old son for money rituals.

The suspect was arrested alongside three other men: identified as Ige Koselu, Benjamin Balovi and Segun Shile.

The trio were said to have accompanied the farmer to a herbalist’s home in Owode area of the state, where the money ritual was to be carried out.

According to Bada, “I have 10 children from three wives. The situation of things kept going from bad to worse. I could not feed my children. I then decided to use my last child, Agbe, for a money rit¥al, so that I could train the other children and have better living conditions.

In May 2023, I left my home town in Jakotome, Benin Republic for Nigeria, to visit my brother, Benjamin Balobi, at Ilaro, Ogun State, who earlier told me he was doing well as a farmer and that the owner of a farmland was looking for labourers.

That was how I brought Agbe to Nigeria to work. But the thought of using him for a money ritual came up when I realized that the money paid as salary to my son was very poor.

I told Balobi to help me get a herbalist that would help me with the money rituals; he said he knew no one but promised to help me find a herbalist who might have information on it.

He informed Ige Koshelu (one of the suspects) who found someone that promised to take us to the herbalist’s place in Sango. But we were taken to another herbalist’s place in Owode, where we were arrested.”

Also speaking, one of his accomplices, Segun Shile, a commercial motorcyclist, said four herbalists earlier contacted declined engaging in money rituals sacrifice.