The
panties of a popular American video vixen and model, Symba and that of
her friend were reportedly stolen at a hotel in Lekki, Lagos State by
one of the hotel cleaners.
In the month of October, 2018, a young man with dreadlocks who
claimed to be abroad raised an alarm about internet fraudsters doing
rituals with the panties of ladies to spiritually empower them to enjoy
easy windfalls from scams.'
According to him, the panties were sold at the black market from
the price range of N200,000 to N350,000 depending on how much
residues/body fluids they contained. Only a few people took him serious.
Netizens laughed about it in the comment section of the Instagram page.
A few days later, the man's revelation started gaining traction in the
media. Reports of people stealing panties from washing lines started
emerging with confessions made by culprits mostly in the face of jungle
justice.
In December, the panties of a popular American video vixen and
model, Symba and that of her friend were reportedly stolen at the Villa
Thirty Three Hotel in Lekki, Lagos State by one of the hotel cleaners.
She raised the alarm on social media and immediately, the ladies got the
message that the desperate hunt for their panties was real.
The internet fraudsters who are majorly young men were fingered in
the diabolic act of wicked ritualism. According to reports, the
implication of this is that the victim whose panties were used for
rituals might fall sick, die mysteriously, run mad or be bewitched with
ill-luck till her last day on earth.
The situation seems worse in Delta State with gunmen allegedly robbing women of their underwear.
But how true are these stories? Hope they are not one of these
periodic social media hoaxes that are click baits set by bloggers and
online journalists hungry for traffic?
Nigeria’s social media space and its penchant for fake news
Nigerians have an unimpressive record of wilfully spreading fake
and odd news. A section of the country once spread rumours that there
was a sinister plan by the ruling All Progressives Congress to islamize
Nigeria and turn it into a country like Turkey. You can also remember
how rumours emanated from the South-East geo-political zone in 2017 that
the Nigerian Army was using a medical exercise to inject
poison/monkeypox virus into the people to depopulate the South-East
against the 2019 general election.
We have also heard unfounded claims of people picking monies on the
ground and turning into yam tubers or other objects which are easily
stashed away but the culprits who planted it. What about the issue of
'killer phone number or phone call'? A strange number calls your line
and immediately you respond to the call, you start to vomit blood and
die. Another close one that was popular in Ibadan where this reporter
grew up is 'manhood theft'. A stranger will accost you in public space
to ask for direction and the next minute after your response, your
manhood shrinks.
Just of late, people believe there are piggy banks (kolo) that are
laced with juju. The money saved in them will gradually disappear
without your knowledge. All these and many more are spread from mouth to
mouth and on social media with people taking it hook line and sinker
without any empirical evidence. But the moment you try to verify the
report, the proponents feel uneasy due to lack of substance and begin to
retrace their steps.
As the story of a lady who vomited naira notes at the Effurun
market area of Uvwie local government area of Warri, Delta State after
her pant was allegedly stolen at her residence few weeks ago pervaded
the internet space, fear gripped female folks especially the ones who
discreetly sell their bodies on the internet. Wearing panties to the
house of a man you don’t trust has become a high risk. People became
vigilant about the young men with unsubstantiated sources of wealth in
their neighbourhoods also called the ‘Benz or Nothing Boys’ on social
media due to their affinity with exotic Mercedes Benz automobiles.
Using the panties of ladies isn’t part of our line of trade – Yahoo Boys
As this reporter enjoyed the ambience of the Lagos-Ibadan
expressway on his way back to his home-city for the Yuletide, he thought
about the panties rituals and was determined to get to the root of the
issue due to the fact that most of the journalists who have worked on
the stories lack optimism in their reportage.
Yahoo Boys are not ghosts, they live around us. We grew up with
some of them. They share their scam escapades and proceeds at beer
parlours, club houses and social gatherings in the midst of like-minds.
They are very approachable as long as you are not a security operative
and the principle of confidentiality is assured. I got a couple of phone
numbers and started to set up interviews with them on the craze of
panties being used for black magic. It was a very herculean task but
funny enough the Yahoo Boys I spoke with were willing to talk. I even
got referrals to other fraudsters for necessary information.
To my greatest shock, the several seemingly established ‘hustlers’
as they call themselves claimed to have heard the rumours on social
media. Most of them admitted that internet fraud had taken a spiritual
dimension a long time ago but the issue of panties being used at the
detriment of the owner was out of place.
“Your questions are very funny; I haven’t heard such news of
the pant ritual on the street (among friends). just like you, I read it
online. I know boys do juju so that their magas (victims) could pay big
cash on time but the reported fate of the victims is synonymous to pure
blood money” a suspected scammer of South-east descent who spoke under the condition of anonymity told this reporter.
Not satisfied, the reporter was able to set up a meeting with
another young man in his early thirties who is in the illicit business.
He paraded one of the latest iPhones, Apple laptop, jewelleries. He
spoke to this reporter with a wrap of weed on one hand, a mixture of
unknown alcoholic substance on the other with mostly ladies constantly
interrupting the brief interview with phone calls. After being assured
of his safety a second time, he slowly started singing like a bird.
“I can boldly tell you that most of the guys out there are pure
ritualists and not Yahoo Boys. They know nothing about this work. My
old friend who has no email address bought a Maserati car worth N60
million. I don’t know if you know the car....he is based in South
Africa. I have asked him to give me tips for work but his brain is
empty. People close to him have told me that he only uses his laptop for
Facebook. I suspect pure blood money as he isn’t doing drugs. He comes
to Nigeria periodically maybe to renew his jazz (hoodoo). People will
think such a guy is doing Yahoo but I doubt bro. That’s the problem we
are dealing with” he said.
When probed further about the infusion of black magic with internet
scam, he admitted that voodoo plays a huge role in the criminal
industry.
“I nor fit lie you, juju dey and people dey use am wella. Most
of these herbalists have a book of spells and they can make such charms
to jinx white people. The problem is that most of them are fake. I have
done some in the past but they never worked for me. I still believe in
pure hard work and I know very successful guys in Lagos who own
properties here and there doing fraud without juju” he added.
He further explained that some herbalists use human skulls
recovered from burial grounds, tongues of human beings, breasts and
other parts to make potions. According to his account, these materials
are grinded into power to make soaps, drinks or food for the scammer and
a procedure is followed to bring good luck. He accused the “Benz Boy”
of indulging in that level of fraud to cater for their flamboyant
lifestyles.
This reporter also spoke with another very wealthy young man, an
Osun State native in his mid thirties who shuttles between Nigeria and
Malaysia. He is happily married with two kids. He owns several cars,
landed properties and businesses used as fronts for fraud. He abruptly
denied having any knowledge of the panties ritual.
“Internet scam has been around in Nigeria for almost two
decades now and the issue of panties of women being used for money never
came up until recently. What is so special about the panties of ladies?
I’m in touch with guys and I have never met or heard of one using the
panties of ladies to attract goodwill. That’s pure blood money and my
mind tells me the politicians might be involved. This is an election
season and desperate politicians need spiritual powers to play dirty
politics” he alleged.
This reporter came close to making a breakthrough in meeting two
victims of the panties wizardry when he spoke with one partly
uncooperative hustler around the Ologuneru area of Ibadan who initially
insulted the reporter. On being quizzed on the issue, he mocked the
journalist during the telephone interview.
“Guy you dey mad oh!, which kain question be this one na? Who tell you say I dey press?” he asked amid laughter.
When the journalist explained the objective of the investigation to
him and how he had spoken with his colleagues with much progress made,
he toned down his utterances.
“I have never seen any guy using the pants of ladies. Apart
from what we read on Instablog (Nigeria’s popular microblog on
Instagram), no one has ever informed me that it’s the new method of
making cash or that someone he knows is involved. The reports are very
strange to us. Most of the guys doing such are into blood money and not
Yahoo Yahoo. I can assure you. Thats all I know” he said.
He later called this reporter to tell him about two ladies whose
panties were reportedly used for rituals. According to the rumours he
heard, the young ladies slept with the big boys for money and ended up
in the hands of the ritualists. He was told the ladies started falling
sick later on with their bodies shrinking and oozing a foul smell. All
efforts to speak with the purported victims failed as people contacted
had uneasily feelings about the reportage.
Youths now follow Ifa (West African religion and system of divination) for financial benefits
The reporter also met a 25-year old alumnus of the Ladoke Akintola
University of Technology, Ogbomoso. The school is famed for housing some
of the most notorious fraudsters in the South-western part of the
country. Segun Quadri (not real name) drives a Lexus 350 jeep; he has
built his own house and has invested in fish farming. He has a start-up
that sells fish feed on a large-scale. He looks so innocent and no one
would ever suspect he is into to internet fraud. He also claimed
ignorance about the panties voodoo.
“I don’t believe any Yahoo Boy is using the panties of any
woman. It’s all fake news. Most of the stories are hard to prove. The
major problem is that most people are now into money-making rituals.
That is not internet fraud. There are some rituals that you will do to
prosper whatever you lay your hands on. On the conclusion of the
spiritual exercise, the native doctor asks you to go start any business.
Even if it means selling ordinary slippers, you will become rich and
famous from that cheap venture” Segun narrated as he swung his car keys in the air as if he was coordinating a group of choristers in a church.
“People in Lagos are now ‘doing Ifa’, the process is very deep
and hard to explain. It’s like joining a secret cult. When you do,
worshipping Ifa becomes your second religion. It doesn’t disturb the
first one. It’s like joining the illuminati. You just have to admit that
you now have a second god in your life” he added.
His narration reminded the reporter of one popular and super rich
suspected internet fraudster named Femi at the Jericho area of Ibadan of
Ibadan who was purportedly caught performing a ritual in the middle of
the night at a three-way junction. According to reports, he was dressed
in all-white clothes. The suspect later admitted openly that he is an
Ifa worshipper who has refused to align with Christianity or Islam.
The reporter asked him if these Ifa faithful he described are
engaged in rituals in the class of what Femi did and he affirmatively
said no.
“You don’t have to perform such rituals except you need certain
powers. These Ifa faithful are given some fetish structures they simply
worship in their houses. Mostly, they are given a calabash containing
other spiritual materials. You will pray on it and pour a quantity of
palm oil inside of it as part of the rites involved. The palm oil is
expected to dry up before the day ends. This in turn brings good luck to
the worshiper” he said.
When asked about clues to identifying members of the Ifa confraternity, he spoke further;
“Some of these Ifa members only wear white dresses. Their cars
are white, houses have the same colour and most of their belongings.
They will tell you they have some sort of obsession with that colour but
it’s not true. Most of them have forbidden food materials like fish,
snail, pig, cow meat and others. Eating these has become a taboo for
them. Their wealth could cease if they break the rules” he emphatically stated.
After enjoying Segun’s utmost cooperation, the reporter felt
indebted and couldn’t summon courage to ask him about his personal
involvement in black magic. Rumours have it that his early success might
have come directly from the devil’s altar.
People are truly using the panties of women for juju – native doctor
A native doctor who also spoke on the issue under the condition of
anonymity due to its sensitive nature claims the panties of female folks
are actually being utilized by unscrupulous elements for rituals.
According to him, it’s a very potent source of the Midas touch in life.
“The panties of women are actually being used by Yahoo Boys.
The panties work for different things depending on the wish of the
person in question. It’s capable of unlocking the destiny of the
ritualist. He stands a good chance of being prosperous in whatever he
lays his hands on be it business or internet scam. I will not lie to
you, people are indeed using the underwear of women for rituals” he said.
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