A 40-year-old herbalist, Ogundele Samson, who was apprehended for having carnal knowledge of a 17-year-old client (name withheld), has said he demanded sex from her in order to cover up her confession to stealing N1,000.
The suspect however, said it was the devil that pushed him to commit such crime in the course of his work as a native doctor.
The victim and eight other girls had approached the suspect, a resident of Referefu area of Oja-Odan, for consultation over a missing N1,000 note.
Confirming the story, the Ogun State Police commands Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said that the suspect was picked up after a 14-year-old girl among the nine hairdressing apprentices lodged a report at the Oja-Odan police station that she and eight other girls went to the native doctor’s house when N1,000 got missing in the shop they were learning in, in order to know who stole the money among them.
She told the police that when they all got to the herbalist, he started calling them into a room one after the other after collecting N700 from them.
The girl said that they were each summoned into the herbalist’s office, who then asked questions. She said after two went in and came out, she entered, only for the suspect to make an attempt to defile her, which she resisted and fled from.
Acting on the complaint, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Oja-Odan Division, CSP Gabriel Ikechukwu, reportedly detailed his detectives to go after the suspect to effect his arrest.
It was while he was being interrogated that another 17-year-old girl among the group opened up that the herbalist had his way with her when she was in his consulting room.
She stated further that the herbalist threatened her that she would die if she dared to inform anyone.
DSP Oyeyemi said that the victim was immediately taken to the General Hospital, Oja-Odan, where the doctor on duty confirmed that there was indeed sexual contact with the girl.
The incident made the state Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, to order the transfer of the suspect to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation and diligent prosecution.
In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, Samson, a father of two and also a farmer, confessed to having carnal knowledge of the girl, but said it was as an exchange for a favour he granted her by not exposing her as the culprit being searched for.
Samson, who revealed that he started divination about six years ago after his father died, said: “Nine girls who were hairdressing apprentices came to me to report the theft of N1,000 in the shop they work in, asking me to check it through Ifa divination.
“I called them in one after the other after the initial divination process, but they denied stealing the money except one of them who confessed to it. She said that before this particular theft, she had been stealing among her colleagues. She pleaded with me not to expose her.
“I asked her what she wanted to give me in order to cover-up her crime, but she said she didn’t have any money. That was when I told her I wanted to have sex with her and also marry her, and she replied that there was no problem on that.
“She removed her trousers and underwear herself and laid down of her volition.
“We had only a round of sex and she went out while I remained in the room. I didn’t know that she went out crying, which made her mates to ask her what was wrong. That was how she told them that I slept with her.
“The following day, I just came back from a meeting when some boys came for me and took me to our traditional leader in the community. From there, I was taken to a police station. But I was not the one who broke her hymen. She had been having sex before my relationship with her. It was the devil’s work.”