Nigeria Content Online

The Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) command of the State Security Service (SSS) paraded two
men in Abuja yesterday for allegedly abducting and attempting to use an
eight-year-old boy, Lokoja Abeshi, for money rituals.

The legal officer
of the command, Tom Aniefiok, told journalists while parading the
suspects – Jonah Jabah, a palm wine tapper, and Alhaji Mamman, both
35-year-old residents of Garaku in the Kokona local government area of
Nasarawa State – that Master Abeshi had been staying with the chief
suspect, Mr Jabah, before he lured him to Abuja.

The suspects
allegedly told the young boy they wanted to enroll him in a school in
the city and the unsuspecting boy did not have any premonition that
they wanted to harm him.

Mr Aniefiok said
the two suspects had owned up to the crime and would soon be handed
over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.

He advised members
of the public to take proper care of their wards and devote more time
to them in order to avoid such occurrences. He also urged members of
the public to promptly report such matters to the relevant security
agencies.

“On the 13th April
2011, the FCT command of the State Security Service (SSS), acting on a
tipoff, arrested two suspected ritualists at Durumi II, Garki, Abuja.

“The suspects,
namely Jonah Jabah and Alhaji Mamman, abducted one Lokoja Abeshi (a lad
of eight years) with the aim of sacrificing him for money ritual; one
Muhammed G. Ibrahim, who tipped off the service and in whose residence
the suspects were arrested, stated that the suspects brought the boy to
his residence to be sacrificed for money ritual,” said Mr Aniefiok.

Blame the boy

Mr Ibrahim, a
Muslim cleric, reportedly told the two men that he only prays for
people with problems but does not do rituals. He also reportedly told
them he was going to assist them by getting somebody to help them and
thereafter alerted the service. This led to the arrest of the two
suspects.

“One of the
suspects, Jonah Jabah, who claims to be the boy’s uncle, resides at
Garaku, Kokona LGA of Nasarawa State; he blamed his bad luck and
misfortune in life on the lad (Lokoja). Hence he resolved to sacrifice
the boy,” Mr Aniefok said.

Mr Mamman told
newsmen that he led Mr Jabah to the supposed ritualist when he told him
that the boy had a “bad spirit” and “needed prayers.” On his part, Mr
Jabah said he was a palmwine tapper and also owns a supermarket in his
village. He said the boy, whom he described as being “just like my
pikin,” had been staying with him since he was born.

Mr Jabah said he
had earlier taken the boy to several spiritualists when he learnt that
the boy used his powers as a member of a secret cult to scuttle his
supermarket and palm wine-tapping business.

He said it was when he could not find the solution he needed that he
contacted his friend, Mr Mamman to take him to a mallam who will help
him use the boy to perform the money rituals. He said Lokoja’s evil
powers were what led to his decision to use the boy for money making
rituals to salvage his situation.