The Oyo State Police Command has discovered a place in a
remote village of Ibadan, where thousands of fake pounds, euros, dollars and
other foreign currencies were being produced, Punch Metro reports.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mohammed Katsina,
said that the discovery was made by the command’s ambush squad in a village
called Ojoku in Badeku, Ona-Ara Local Government Area of the state.
The police described the area as fast transforming to an
abode for criminals, having earlier served as a kidnappers’ den.
As of Monday, police had cordoned off the compound shielded
by tall trees and thick bushes.
Two Toyota Camry cars with number plate AA 125 DK and AA 207
DH and a Nissan Almera lift back model with number plate AGL 882 DF were found
in the compound, which was fenced with corrugated iron sheets.
Several notes of fake foreign currencies littered the
ground.
Apart from being a fake currency factory, the place also
served as a shrine where several criminal activities were perpetrated.
There are two houses in the compound with at least six rooms
adorned with various statues to give the impression that the place is being
used as a shrine. The walls were decorated with the group’s description of gods
to scare victims.
Ismail Adesina, 43, who was arrested at the scene, said he
did not know anything about the currencies and that the owners had escaped.
He said he was a herbalist and that he had been involved in
several financial crimes under the pretext of helping victims to cure ailments
and barrenness.
Adesina added that the owners of the three vehicles were
canvassers who combed the town to woo customers.
He said, “I am a herbalist and I inherited the skill from my
father. I am also a conman. I cured diabetes, barrenness, blindness and other
ailments. I have cured many people. My partner, who escaped yesterday, knows
how the currencies were produced. Taju and Wasiu are my other partners. We have
been here for about four years. We collected varying sums of money from our
victims but we do not kidnap people. We bought the land in the bush and built
the houses. I am a native of Beyerunka in Ibadan. The names of our victims are
with my partners.”
Adesina said his wife had left him and taken his child away
because he could not provide for them.
He added that he had bought a car from the proceeds of
criminal activities but had to sell it. Asked if his father also taught him how
to swindle people through fake healing, Adesina said that he was a genuine
herbalist before he took to the crime
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