coder THE 55-year-old herbalist, who
confessed to have prepared
charms to fortify notorious
kidnap kingpin, Henry
Chibueze, popularly called
Vampire, killed last week
during a gun battle with
operatives of the Inspector-
General of Police Intelligence
Response Team in Abia State,
has said Vampire probably
forgot to tie the charm for
disappearance on his waist.

The herbalist, Iweajuo Gad,
who was arrested in his shrine
at Asoeme town in Aba, Abia
South Local Government Area
of Abia State, Sunday, revealed
that he collected N700,000 to
prepare the charms that
facilitated his client’s rescue
from the court.

This is just as one of the
suspects arrested at the end of
the gun battle that brought an
end to Vampire’s reign
revealed how late Chibueze
killed three of his cousins,
including a soldier.

Among charms prepared for
Chibueze, according to his
herbalist, were those that
could stop bullets from
penetrating his body and that
of members of his gang, and
could enable him disappear at
will.

According to the herbalist, who
allegedly also prepared charms
for other robbers, “yes, I was
his juju man. I performed the
special ritual that made his
escape from the Owerri High
Court. I did it with the
assistance of three other
herbalists.

“Part of the rituals included
causing disagreement among
prison officials. We got the
names of seven prison officials
through the help of Vampire’s
brother. I did incarnations,
which caused them to be weak
and confused. I was paid
N700,000 for the ritual. I was
given an initial payment of
N200,000 for the preparation
and after he was successfully
rescued, I was paid the balance
of N500,000.”

Asked why the charm failed on
the day Chibueze was
eventually killed, he stated that
he could have forgotten to tie
the charms for disappearance
round his waist.

Confession

Meanwhile, one of the
suspected members of the
gang, Chukwuebuka Ikeazota,
revealed how Vampire
organised the bloody Friday,
January 27, rescue from prison
custody.

He disclosed that Vampire
provided all the logistics, funds,
arms and ammunition that was
used by the gang.

Ikeazota further revealed that
Vampire’s elder brother,
Cornelius Ikeazota, led the
gang that rescued Vampire.

After the rescue operation, he
said that Vampire was taken to
a house built by their elder
brother in their home town in
Anara, Isiala Mbano Local
Government Area of Imo State,
from where the gang resumed
kidnapping.

The 23-year-old suspect also
stated that the SUV that was
used for the rescue operation
was bought by Vampire, while
he was in prison, adding that
Vampire usually gave out his
rifles for hire to various gangs
of kidnappers operating within
the state.

According to him, “I am related
to Vampire by blood.

My
mother and his father were
born by same parents.

He is
from Agbaja town in Nwagele
Local Government Area, Imo
State, and he used to visit us
while we were younger.

“He stopped coming regularly
to our house about 10 years
ago, after he killed a soldier in
Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

“Afterwards, we heard that he
was a robber and that during
an operation he killed a soldier.

“He ran away after that
incident and I didn’t see him
again until 2015, when he was
arrested by the Department of
State Service, DSS, operatives.

“Before his arrest, three of my
uncles were killed by a gunman
in my mother’s home town in
Agbaja.

“My mother and some of her
sisters trooped to their village
and laid curse on who ever
carried out the killing.

“It was three days after the
curse was placed on their
killers that Vampire was
arrested by DSS.

During
interrogation, he confessed to
be responsible for the death of
my uncles. He said he killed
them because they swindled
him of some money he gave
them to build a house for him.

“I used to visit him while he
was in prison; to buy him food.

He did not eat food cooked in
the prison. During one of the
visits, he gave me a note to
take to his native doctor in
Abia State. He was always in
constant communication with
my elder brother Cornelius.

“He (Cornelius) was the person
Vampire gave money to buy
SUV for him and he knows
where Vampire kept his
weapons.

“It was Cornelius that
organised the boys that went
to the court to rescue Vampire.

Thereafter, they brought him
to our house. He never came
out of the house during the
day.

“Two days after his release, he
regrouped his boys and they
went into town, kidnapped
four persons and kept them in
a forest. He was still staying in
our house at the time I was
arrested.”