Despite various intensive campaigns against harmful traditional/cultural discriminatory practices and inhuman treatment that deprive citizens of certain rights and privileges, some of these practices are still going on in many communities in Igbo land, causing animosity and tearing hitherto peaceful communities apart.

Particularly, accusations of witchcraft and diabolism are the common ones pitching brothers, sisters, families and friends against each other in some Igbo communities.

This is common in Ebonyi State communities. Many innocent people have been paraded naked, beaten and tortured or killed by youths and their properties destroyed on the flimsy allegations of witchcraft and diabolism.

Some of the victims were accused of killing their family members or other members of the community through occultic means. In many cases, mischievous individuals allegedly connived with local prophets, and traditional priests to carry out the ugly act.

On the strength of the frivolous allegations, local mobs in the communities, would torture the victims, subject them to all manner of inhuman treatment, and even make them to take an oath by forcing them to drink harmful and poisonous concoctions which sometimes led to their deaths or destruction of vital organs, ultimately leading to their death.

Some reported cases of citizens dehumanised, banished in the state

Reports from some rural communities in areas such as Izzi, Okposi, Afikpo, Ohaukwu, Ishielu, Ezza North, Ezza South and other places, confirmed that the evil acts occurred.

Joseph Agwu, a native of Ekwashi, Ngbo autonomous community, Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state, was a victim. He was banished from his community on 4th August, 2025 after he was tortured by the villagers who tied palm fronds all over his body and paraded him round the community, including market squares. He was accused of killing his brother’s child as well as other people in the area through diabolism. His belongings, including his two compounds, were said to have been set ablaze. He was banished for five years against the plea of their traditional ruler.

Since that 4th August, the septuagenarian is said to be taking refuge in his maternal home.

He narrated his ordeal: “I am a native of Ekwashi Ngbo autonomous community in Ohaukwu Council of Ebonyi State. I married four wives. One is late and the remaining three have many children and grandchildren for me. This happened on 4th August 2025 and since then, I have been in my maternal home in Umuezeaka autonomous Community. I ran to my maternal home for safety, when my people tortured me to near death against our traditional ruler’s order.

“My attackers said I confessed to killing them when I was drunk at a burial ceremony. But to be honest with you, I am a traditional worshiper and not a wizard. I have not killed anybody.

“If I ever killed anybody, let me not see the next day, let moving vehicles kill me on the road as I go on my bicycle, to the extent that vultures feed on my flesh and I will not be given any burial rites.

“One of my brothers accused me of confessing to have killed his child who died years ago and many other people when I was drunk. I am innocent, I am not a trouble maker. I am a good farmer. They just conspired and intimidated me out of my community so as to take over my vast lands and farms.

“When the incident was reported to our traditional ruler, he instructed my accusers to stop beating me but go to my compounds in search of evidence for their claims. He directed them to organise oath-taking process as our tradition demands to prove my innocence or otherwise. But they ignored all his orders.

“My children who tried to stop them from assaulting me were also assaulted. The search parties didn’t find any evidence to back their claims in my compounds.

“I also learnt that they accused one of my wives of hiding my objects of worship and compelled her to take an oath, whereas they stopped me from taking an oath as the prime suspect. They have even come here to threaten my maternal relatives to throw me out.

“One of my brothers supplied the fuel used to destroy my property. I demand that government and all people of goodwill help me get justice and return to my home.”

There is also the case of 65-year-old Nnennaya Donatus-Chukwu of Mebiokpa Amaeke, Okposi community in Ohaozara Council who alongside two other community members, suffered agonising inhuman treatment by their village youths who accused her of killing her husband ‘s nephew, one Innocent Chukwu through witchcraft.

The said late Innocent Chukwu reportedly died in a road accident on his way home from Calabar, Cross River State. The woman and two other elders in the family compound were accused of killing him because they had earlier objected to his choice of the building site which they allegedly said was too close to their family deity.

of Innocent Chukwu in collaboration with two others through witchcraft. The protesting youths looted and destroyed everything in both our family compound and that of my first son. They said since Innocent would not be alive to live in his house, that we would not have a house to live in. I thank God my children were not at home because they would have been killed. Before now, I had no quarrel with Innocent, the mother or anybody. The more I tried to explain that I am innocent of the accusations, the more they beat me.

“I was taken to our traditional ruler who blamed the youths for beating me and destroying my family belongings. He advised them to hand us over to the police at Obiozara for in-depth investigations and prosecution in the court of law. But they refused.

“They refused and took me and the other two persons back to our compound. They washed the dead man’s armpits, reproductive organs, mouth and face, added four kola nuts, and forced us to drink the water to prove our innocence. After the oath, they banished us out of the community till after our next new yam festival, if we are still alive.

“I plead with the state government, the wife of Ebonyi State governor, NGOs, National Human Rights Commission, human rights activists, security agencies and other groups to help me get justice. They accused me of killing someone who died in a road accident in the city the same day and time I was preparing palm oil in our village”, she lamented.

In Afikpo, Kingsley Ibeh was also accused of witchcraft. He said that he was accused of causing misfortunes in the community, including being behind the death of some members of the community through diabolism. He said his accusers mixed human excrement and fermented cassava and rubbed the mixture all over his body; and that he was stripped naked, rope tied on his waist and women were instructed to parade him round the market in the area. He said this happened in June this year.

Mrs. Onwe Nwamaka from Ebele village, Umuogudu Akpu Ngbo community in the same Ohaukwu Council and her children, were banished from their place after her husband was banished also for alleged witchcraft.

Nwamaka narrated her ordeal: “I have been married to my husband for nine years. There have many issues in my husband’s family since I married him.

This year, one of his brothers became sick and later died. His brothers alleged that he was the one that killed him. My husband told his brothers that he was innocent. But they still mobilised villagers who beat him to near death and inflicted severe injuries on him. They banished him from the community and also banished me and our children from the community.

“They demolished my husband’s houses and destroyed every property he has. I have no father, I have no mother, I don’t have anyone. I took my children to where I was born. Few months ago, I went to our farm in my husband’s place to harvest crops and the villagers heard of it, came there and beat me to stupor.

They harvested all the crops in our four farms and destroyed the farms. Our traditional ruler has been the one feeding us since they harvested all our crops and destroyed our farms. I have not seen my husband since they banished him in 2022; I have not heard from him. My children have dropped out of school.

Also, Thomas Eze, from Ebele, Umuogudu Akpu also in Ngbo community, was maltreated by the villagers. He was accused of burying a charm in his farm by one of the villagers and that he was responsible for the misfortunes of some members of the community. He was banished from the community.

“Our traditional ruler took me and started taking care of me. I want to go back to my community. The government should come to my aid.”

The traditional ruler of one of the communities, Ngbo community, Eze Godwin Ugadu Ogba, condemned the act and described it “as barbaric, wicked and unconstitutional.” He lamented that despite his appeal to the perpetrators to stop the acts, they have continued to disobey him. He vowed to work with relevant agencies to end the menace in the community.

“Some villagers in Ebele are driving people out of the village on allegation of witchcraft. These people don’t behave like human beings and I have been warning them to stop banishing people because their actions are against the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I brought those they banished back to the community but they refused to allow them to stay.

“I have been telling these people that are doing all these things that there is no law in Nigeria that permits what they are doing. This is why I came to the Human Rights Commission to complain about it, let this ugly trend stop. I will not allow them to continue dehumanizing and banishing people,” he said.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and other NGOs in the state are said to have picked interest in rights abuses and making efforts to tackle them. (Vanguard)

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