Fake Mallam Grabbed

Arrested; Mallam Musah Issaku

MUSAH ISSAKU, a 33-year-old self-styled mallam in Ashaiman has been arrested for defrauding a man of the sum of GHȻ950 under the pretext of multiplying his money at Tulaku, an Ashaiman suburb.

Musah Isaku alias Mallam Issaku, a resident of Ashaiman, was reported to have been arrested at his hideout in Ashaiman after conning innocent victims into believing that he could double money.

Musah was reportedly set free by his captors who refused to heed his plea for him to be taken to the police station after subjecting him to several beatings with stones, sticks from Tulaku through to the central market to Ashaiman Taifa before he was set free.

The captors, in their explanation of not sending the suspect to the nearest police station, mentioned that the suspect was always set free by the police whenever he defrauded someone.

Jerry Tetteh, Mallam Issaku's victim, told DAILY GUIDE in an interview that on September 16, 2012, he was sent to purchase iron rods at Tulaku when he met the fraudster who told him he could double money.

According to him, the suspect made him believe that he had magic to double any amount of cash within a shortest possible time.

Tetteh further mentioned that Mallam Musah asked him to pay some amount of money for the purchase of mercury which will aid in the magic money doubling.

'He fooled me to believe that the more money I give the more I get, so I quickly gave him all the money on me including the one I have been sent with for the magic works,' the victim stated.

He continued that the suspect, for close to five minutes, chanted some words whilst holding a black polythene bag adding that 'he later gave the polythene bag to me, and when I opened it after I had left him, I saw shredded papers like money bills in the polythene.'

Tetteh, who noted that he had learnt his lesson from the experience he had had with the swindler, cautioned the public to be mindful of such miscreants who pretended to be mallams and spiritualists.

Mallam Musah has however denied the allegation by the victim. He said 'I have never set my eyes on him before and I am not the type of person who engages in the act of swindling people.'

An observer nearly incurred the wrath of the irate youth when he attempted to implore the angry residents to take the alleged trickster to the nearest police station or set him free, instead of taking the law into their hands.

From Vincent Kubi, Ashaiman