Confession of 20-yr-old ex-cultist
The love of money is the root of all evil, so says the Bible. This aphorism aptly captures the experience of a 20-year-old man, Agu Nwanu, who said he delved into voodoo practices and money ritual in a bid to get rich by all means.
Nwanu told the reporter that at the peak of his foray into voodooism, he, alongside a traditional priest, slaughtered 11 young virgins for money rituals at a village in Ebonyi State. According to him, right from his childhood, he had made up his mind to serve the devil in order to become rich.
He took the decision, he noted, as a 15-year-old young lad in his village in Ebonyi State. Agu’s reason for insisting on serving the devil was that his father, who served God all his life was also poor all his life. Said he:
“When I was growing up, I never wanted to be as poor as my father. I had wanted to become not just rich but very wealthy. I reasoned that I had to serve the devil in order to become very wealthy. I believed that my father was afflicted by abject poverty because he had faithfully served God. I had believed that by serving Satan, I would be very rich, build mansions and ride big cars, as I have learnt that many wealthy persons got their money by serving the devil. So, I was determined to do money rituals too so as to hit it big.
“At 15, I began to practise paganism, I would go into the bush in the village, clear a spot, gather some stones and put some leaves on them. I would then pour oil on the stones and then kneel down to worship the objects.
I also was desirous to know the devil. I was very curious about him. I was asking everyone around about powerful native men, who could link me to the devil. I wanted to meet with him, tell him that I wanted to be very rich at all cost.”
Indeed, a few years later, Nwanu came by powerful native doctors, who introduced him into various ways of doing money rituals. “I began to meet with different native doctors, who were asking for some items as requirements for money rituals.
The items included dogs, fowls, hairs and parts of human beings as well as some other things needed for the rituals. These items were mixed together and eventually, I started making money. That was how I was able to sponsor myself in secondary school as well as feed and clothe myself. In spite of all these, I wasn’t yet satisfied, as I was still living with my uncle. “I was thirsty for good money.
I once got introduced to a powerful native doctor, who assured that he could help me to become very wealthy on certain conditions. He said I had to get married and begin to make babies, as my wife and children would be useful in sustaining the money rituals. The man also told me that I was also too young then because I was barely 20 years old.
He advised me to do the rituals when I turned 25. I didn’t like the conditions he gave, so, I decided to seek for help elsewhere and I got it. “In January this year, I was introduced to another powerful native doctor in Ebonyi State. I had to travel all the way from Lagos to Ebonyi to meet with the man.
I disguised as a middle-aged man to forestall a possibility of the man, dismissing me as too young. The native doctor turned out to be a priest to a deity believed to be the god of money. “At the priest’s place, I was asked to speak with an invisible deity, who spoke to me in a guttural voice. He demanded the heads of seven female virgins, babies preferably.
Though I was stunned at its demand, I was ready to do whatever needed to be done. I indicated my readiness but said I didn’t have the means of getting the babies since I was not used to the place.
The priest offered to help and took me to some motherless babies’ homes and hospitals in the state. “At first, the owners of the homes and hospitals asked for N400, 000 for each baby but we haggled and beat the price to N70, 000 for each.
We eventually got seven babies even though we didn’t make all the payment. The priest made arrangement with the authorities of the motherless babies’ home to secretly bring the babies to his shrine in order to prevent a possible encounter with the police.
‘‘Once the priest got the items, he asked me to go into a room where he had lodged me. So, the next day, he invited me to his shrine and there I saw blood and human remains splattered all over the premises of his shrine and I concluded that he must have used those babies for the rituals. “The priest then handed some charms to me and instructed me to return to Lagos. He said I should observe a dry fast for seven days and nights.
He also instructed me strongly against having anything to do with women. He specifically said I should not allow a woman touch me or talk to me.
This, to him, would preserve the potency of the juju. “I was overwhelmed with great joy and made a strong decision to obey the priest’s instruction to the letter. But before I boarded the bus en route to Lagos from the Ebonyi motor park, an unknown woman called out to me and followed me in spite of my blunt refusal to give her audience. The lady succeeded in touching me before I got rid of her.
“Instantly, the charm I was given got broken. I ran back to the priest and was dumfounded with what he said. He said the lady that accosted me had ruined the charm because she was in her menstrual period when she touched me.
I would have been punished severely for spoiling the charm but the deity had a soft spot for me and gave me a second and last chance. I was to do another charm with another seven virgins, four males and three females.
My failure to get the additional seven virgins in three days, he said, would result in my death. “By that time, I had spent almost all I had on me. I had only N43, 000 left. I had paid N400, 000 as part payment for the earlier ritual.
So, I pleaded with the priest to assist me and he contacted some kidnappers in the state. He invited them to have a chat with me and the kidnappers said I was fortunate to approach them at that time because they had four virgins whom they had fetched for a client that didn’t need them any more, as another set of kidnappers he also contacted had gotten the virgins for him. So, the priest and I pleaded with the kidnappers to give me the four virgins on credit. I gave them N40,000. We promised to pay the outstanding money after the second ritual.
“Actually, the money was ready and stacked in many polythene bags and they were shown to me. But the deity had warned that I shouldn’t touch the money since the charm was already spoilt. The other seven virgins were to be used to placate the spirit behind the money so that anyone, who touched it would not be severely punished.
“Considering my situation, the priest pleaded with the deity to accept the four virgins that we eventually got from the kidnappers and the ritual of appeasement was done. After that, I was asked to come back to Lagos and wait for seven months.
I was instructed to struggle to survive by doing odd jobs within those seven months so that I would have gathered enough experience that would enable me spend the money prudently. “As the ritual of appeasement on the money was done, a paper on which my name was written fell from the ceiling.
There was a message, congratulating and welcoming me to the club of billionaires. On that note, I returned to Lagos.
As the earlier instructions about abstaining from women were passed to me, I did my best to abstain from women for the seven days of the dry fasting. I ensured this by locking myself up in the house and coming out only in the midnight to get fresh air.
“But shortly after the fasting, I had an encounter with a member of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement.
The man preached to me and we became friends. I agreed to go to church with him one day and after the church service, the presiding pastor, Brother Anapeto Peter, ministered to me and prayed with me. It was there that I received Christ and renounced my evil ways.
“Since then, I’ve been having an inexplicable peace of mind. I have asked God to forgive me for my past atrocities. I will never go back for the money, as I have given up everything for God to rule my life. I have realised that I was just being deceived by the satanic priest and his deity.”
Source: Sun News
