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Ms James commenced her journey to the unknown when she responded to an advertisement that promised to help her in the choice of a life partner. However, by the time she realised what had hit her, she has lost millions of Naira, writes TOYOSI OGUNSEYE

Lola James (not real name) was worried that her parents had refused to approve of her fiancé. She simply couldn��t understand why almost all the members of the family disliked him. She had done everything within her power to convince her parents to bless the union, to no avail..

As she thought about this matter that had been bothering her for months, she decided to read a soft-sell magazine (name withheld) to take her mind off her worries. When she got to page 18 of the magazine, she saw an advert with the title, ��Old woman with old power Mama Ijebu.��

The advert, which was full of grammatical errors, reads, "For your financial problem, love powder, do as I say, quick sales, favour soap, progress at work, for political appointments, love me only to stop your husband from extra marital affairs, win contracts, to receive money from relatives, home and abroad, loot winning, to win land cases and court cases, promised and fail, ill luck, to regain your husband or wife back, for you to marry the man/woman of your choice, protection against witches and wizards. We also cure fibroid, low sperm count, diabetes and stroke. Come and see the power of old."

Apart from two phone numbers on the advert, no traceable address was provided.

James became interested, especially when she read, "for you to marry the man/woman of your choice" part. She immediately called one of the numbers on the advert and spoke with an old woman who identified herself as Mama Ijebu. James told the old woman that her parents had refused to allow her marry the man of her choice. She was then instructed to pay N6,000 as consultancy fee into a bank account that was given to her by Mama Ijebu.

After confirming the payment, Mama Ijebu asked James for her residential address and sent her son to give her a black soap, which she was to use for three days. Mama Ijebu called James after three days and inquired if she had any dream. The lady told the herbalist that she did not have any dream while using the soap.

James said, "The old woman told me that I would need spiritual cleansing because my problems were deep. She asked me to go to Iyana-Ipaja Bridge, where I would meet her son who would take me to a river for the cleansing. When I got there, I met the young man that Mama Ijebu sent to my house with the black soap. He was holding a black polythene bag and he led me along a bush path to a flowing river. When we got there, he brought out a calabash and chanted some incantations. Then I heard a voice from the calabash that asked me to narrate my problems. I did, and I was asked to pay N100,000 for prayers to be a great woman."

That was the beginning of the scam that succeeded in making James to part with N3.6m. As the ritual progressed from one level to the other, she was either asked to put down money for the purchase of horses for rituals, or she was told to pay for an exercise aimed at chasing witches away from her. The syndicate sold all sorts of lies to get money from her.

She however did not know that Mama Ijebu was a con man until her fiancé, who suspected that something was amiss, raised an alarm. She said, "My fiancé noticed that I had become very secretive. One day, he looked through my phone contacts and saw Mama Ijebu��s number. He called her and was really shocked at the old woman��s voice. He asked me who she was and I lied that it was a former classmate of mine. He did not believe my story. Unknown to me, he had saved Mama Ijebu��s number on his phone and after some investigations, he discovered that I was being told lies. We then reported the matter to the Public Relations Office of the Lagos State Police Command."

A female police officer then called Mama Ijebu��s number and told her that she had a problem. The police woman was asked to pay N5,000 into another bank account, which she did. Mama Ijebu then sent someone with a parcel to her. That was how Daniel Adebanjo was arrested.

It was discovered through Adebanjo that Mama Ijebu is actually a man in his forties whose real name is Ishola Arowoya. Adebanjo told the police that he met Arowoya three years ago when he wanted to travel abroad. He said, "Arowoya collected N350,000 from me and promised that he would give me charms that would make the embassy to give me a visa. I did not get the visa or my money. It was when I was frequenting Arowoya��s house for my money that he sent me to three people, including the policewoman, to give them concoctions that he prepared for them."

Through Adebanjo, Babatunde Alausa, the man that played the role of Arowoya��s son, was also arrested. Alausa, 23-year-old furniture maker said, "I live at No. 8, Rafatu Street, Sasha, Lagos. I got to know Arowoya through my former boss, who was his friend. After my boss died, I started living with Arowoya in 2009 because I had nowhere to go. I knew he was always placing adverts in newspapers.

"In June this year, he sent me to give James a black soap in her house at Oshodi. After three days, he gave me a black effigy and asked me to meet James at Iyana-Ipaja. I took James to the river and the sound she was hearing from the calabash was Ikechukwu��s voice. Ikechukwu works with Arowoya. We connected a pipe from the other side of the river and it was I.K. that was speaking into the pipe, even though James thought that it was a god that was speaking. Arowoya was also in the bush, but James did not know. When we were in the bush, James asked the gods for long life and wealth. The first time, James withdrew N60,000 from an ATM for us. When she gave us the money, we showed her a ��Ghana-must-go�� bag that contained fake dollars and pound sterling. I.K. told her that she would need $1,000 and 1000 pounds to mix the money in the bag before she could take the bag away. I got N12,000 from the N60,000.

"The next time we saw her, she brought N350,000 to mix the money. She also paid N1.5m for us to purchase three horses for sacrifices. We told her that the three horses were necessary for the rituals that would make her family love her fiancé. We went to the abattoir and got the blood of cows, which we put in a calabash to deceive James that the blood belonged to the horses. Then, she paid another N500,000 for the ritual that will win the love of a lady in James family that hated her fiancé. In all, we collected N2.2m from her. On my part, I got N12,000, N35,000, N150,000, N75,000 and N70,000 respectively all the times James paid."

Alausa disclosed that Arowoya imitated the voice of an old woman by using a handkerchief to cover his mouth while speaking to his victims through the phone.

Two other suspects, Sesan Ajibode and Adebayo Olalere, were arrested when they went to the police station to secure Adebanjo��s bail. The police arrested them because Arowoya��s number was on Ajibode��s phone, while Olalere was suspected to be a member of the syndicate.

Ajibode denied knowing Arowoya. He said, "I don��t know Arowoya. It is Adebanjo that is my friend. His wife was the one that called me and said her husband was in detention. She also gave me Arowoya��s number and I saved it on my phone. I just came to the PPRO��s office to bail him."

Olalere also denied knowing Arowoya, "I don��t know him. I am a pastor and Adebanjo��s wife is a member of my church. That was why I came for his bail," he said.

The PPRO of the Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Frank Mba, said the crime was challenging because it affected the victim materially and psychologically. Mba, a superintendent of police, said such adverts were also in regular newspapers. "These adverts are not restricted to soft-sells alone. The media must join the police in fighting this crime by making it a matter of compulsion for every advert to carry a full office or residential address. The advert that James saw did not have a full address.

"The media can also come up with internal rules that are patterned towards knowing your customer. For example, photocopies of identity cards, driving license, utility bills of the address in the advert should be collected. Finally, media houses can insist on making the advertisers sign indemnity notes. These rules may not be applied strictly, especially for well-known companies; but they may be important if the advert raises questions or suspicions."

Mba also said that the police are after Arowoya.