“Vampire Forgot To Use Disappearance Charm” – His Herbalist (Photo)

IweajuoGad

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.

Killed soldier, three cousins

“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.”

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Photo: Chukwuebuka Ikeazota