Abdou Bah and Mumina Dicko were arrested after a man [name withheld by the police] reported that he had been duped of D333,000 and US$333,000 respectively.
At a press briefing at Kairaba Police Station yesterday, police spokesman ASP David Kujabi, explained: “I want to share with you a case of obtaining money by false pretense in which a man lost at least D1,559,652 between May and July. I am saying obtaining money by false pretence but how this came about is what is commonly called marabout fraud. The name of the victim is withheld. The suspects are three in number. The principal suspect is Abdou Bah who actually comes from Sinchu Sanjal but is resident in Sukuta. He had an accomplice named Muhammed Bah who is from Medina Anglais but is also resident in Sukuta. The third suspect is Mumina Dicko, a lady who is from Farafenni and lives in Bakau. The victim has had some problems and so decided to consult a marabout for help. He went and consulted Abdou Bah who promised that he could help. He was given a ring to wear and from there, he claimed he must have been hypnotised because the marabout and his cohorts startied asking for money from him. They would ask for money from him in figure 3s and the first time, he was asked to give D333,000 because the marabout claimed that his jinns are in the number 3s. The marabout again demanded US$333, 000 from the victim and both amounts totaled D1,559, 652 [sic].
“How did they succeed in doing this? Well, Abdou Bah had an accomplice named Muhammed Bah who unfortunately is at large. They used Mumina Dicko as a [she]-devil and told the victim that he was going to acquire a lot of wealth because Abdou had a jinn who wanted to marry him. At some point, the victim was made to meet the jinn [Mumina Dicko] at night and on the first occasion; they met on the beach at around Poco Loco in Senegambia through a telephone conversation. Mumina Dicko was made to appear in a white glowing gown and long wig, looking very beautiful. The second time was in the bushes between Gunjur and Siffoe where they had time together sitting on a mat and spoke for 30 minutes to an hour. This was how this man was apparently hypnotised and made to part with his hard-earned money.
“Fortunately, he removed the ring and then came to his senses and reported the matter to the police. Investigations were mounted and thank God, the main suspect has been arrested along with Mumina Dicko. Although the second suspect is still at large, the police have mounted a search and we hope to find him soon. We were able to recover D33,000 from Abdou Bah and D34,000 from Mumina Dicko which amounts to D67,000. Interestingly, Abdou Bah has claimed that he has dug a well in Sinchu Sanjal, sponsored the last gaamo that was held there and bought praying mats for two mosques. Can you imagine a man who obtains money fraudulently and claims to be a sponsor? We have also recovered a Mercedes Benz, two rams and two cows. These are some of the things that he bought from the D1, 559,652.
“We have to bring this story out because we want the people to understand that a lot of people have been victims of this type of fraud. The principal suspect is charged with obtaining money by false pretense and the lady is charged with conspiracy to commit felony. The investigation is still ongoing and we are searching for the second suspect. Anyone who knows this guy should please help the police. We cannot just sit down and condone such injustices in our society.”
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