Police commander cautions public against spiritualists

The Eastern Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Akuribah Yaagy, has cautioned the public to be wary of quack spiritualists defrauding people under the pretext of doubling their money for them.

He said the practice had assumed a different dimension where people now portray themselves on television and radio stations or through huge billboards as being able to provide solutions to financial problems.

DCOP Yaagy, who spoke at a media briefing at the Eastern Regional Police Headquarters at Koforidua, said such spiritual activities required the spilling of human blood and the more one spilled blood the more money one got.

DCOP Akuribah said the Police had apprehended six suspected spiritualists who were engaged in such fraud.

The suspects are Nana Yaw Sofehu, alias Togbe Shitor,32, based at Kukurantumi who defrauded seven victims to the sum of GH¢ 42,364.00 and Farouk Alhassan, alias Okomfo Anokye Ketewa, 32, from Okorase near Koforidua, who defrauded three people of a total of GH ¢13,630.00.

Others are Ibrahim Alhassan, 26, also of Okorase, who defrauded one person of GH¢ 6,900.00, Adjei Emmanuel, alias Agbey, 31, at Koforidua Zongo who defrauded two victims to the tune of GH¢ 23,500.00.

The other two suspects are Alhaji Ibrahim based at Oyoko and Simon Quao alias Nana Dzakpata of Adawso.

He said dockets of the suspects, who had been granted bail, are being prepared for the attention of the Attorney General’s Department.

DCOP Yaagy He appealed to the National Media Commission, the Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA) and Traditional Medicine Practice Council to sanction media houses that promote this form of fraud and to revoke the license of spiritualists engaged in such practices.

He appealed to parliament to consider the issue and how to regulate it by law and appealed to the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA’s) to review the permits for the erection of billboards by such spiritualists.