Crime

What Badoo herbalist, shrine look like

Published

9 years ago

January 3, 2018

A herbalist allegedly behind Badoo attacks has been arrested at the Ayegbami Quarters, Omosan Ijebu, Ogun.

The bust was carried out on Fatai Adebayo’s shrine by a police team from the Lagos command, which included men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Rapid Response Squad and Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, was led by the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi.

According to the police, Badoo cultists meet at the shrine to swear an oath of secrecy before going on deadly operations in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.

Found in the shrine were grinding stones, small gourds, rosaries, and bottles of different sizes containing some witches’ brew.

Imohimi said one of the suspects arrested last week mentioned Adebayo as an accomplice and led the team to the shrine. The leader of the group has also been arrested.

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“Over the weekend, we had far-reaching achievements in the fight against these killers in Ikorodu, who some people call Badoo. The head of the group has been arrested. We arrested him on waterways as he was escaping. All the suspects are with us,” the CP said.

Lagos Police arrest Badoo Chief Herbalist, Fatai Adebayo alias Alese at his shrine in Imosan Village, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, on Tuesday, January 2, 2018.

“One of them confessed that before they go for any killing, the head of the group would take them to the herbalist to swear an oath and get the stones they use for their killings.

According to him, they don’t go for any killing without taking the oaths in the shrine. The herbalist is an accomplice.

“I can assure the people of Ikorodu and Lagosians at large that we will not rest until this evil is completely rooted out of Lagos State.”

The suspect, Adebayo, however, was relaxed. He couldn’t speak or understand English. But he was all smile as he protested that he was not involved in ritual killings.

According to him, the stones are used for grinding peppers and herbs.”

His wife and mother began to weep as the herbalist was taken away by the police.

The police team went to inform the town’s traditional rulers, and later returned to Adebayo’s residence and destroyed the shrine.

The Badoo cult renewed their violence after some months of inactivity following a raid by the joint task force of security agencies in Lagos in 2017.