A 92-year-old man, an indigene of Umuadara Village in Umulogho, Obowo council area of Imo State, who was recently ostracized by his community over an allegation of killing his relative, one Barrister Joseph Ohakpo, through witchcraft as a result of a land dispute, has sought the intervention of relevant authorities.

Isikaku made the appeal when a non-governmental organization, Advocacy for Alleged Witches, AfAW, led by its Executive Director, Dr. Leo Igwe, visited him in his house over the weekend.

Interacting with the AfAW team, Isikaku broke down in tears as he recounted what he described as a period of “physical, mental and psychological abuses” arising from allegations that he spiritually caused the death of the late lawyer.

The elderly man said he had enjoyed a cordial relationship with the deceased, whom he maintained died from chronic heart disease that had resulted in swollen legs and eventually required surgery.

According to him, rather than attributing Ohakpo’s death to his known medical condition, members of their community accused him of spiritually killing the deceased because of a land dispute.

He said the allegation resulted in his ostracization and subjected him to what he described as severe violations of his fundamental rights.

AfAW also visited another alleged witchcraft victim in the community, Ichie Livinus Okonkwo, who said he was accused of causing the death of his nephew in Vietnam merely by speaking to the wind.

Narrating his ordeal, Okonkwo said the deceased was allegedly stabbed to death in Vietnam by his former girlfriend following a confrontation over a failed marital promise.

He explained that the circumstances surrounding the death were subsequently communicated to him by the Nigerian Embassy in Vietnam because he was the deceased’s guardian.

According to him, the alleged perpetrator in Vietnam was prosecuted, and compensation was eventually paid to the deceased’s family.

Okonkwo said despite these facts, he became a victim of what he described as a false accusation, humiliation and human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by youths in his village after they were incited against him.

He questioned how he could be held responsible for a death that occurred thousands of kilometres away and whose circumstances, he said, had already been established by the relevant authorities.

Both Isikaku and Okonkwo called for an end to erroneous beliefs and accusations capable of destroying lives, families and community relationships.

They thanked AfAW for the solidarity and appealed to them to intervene in their cases and other similar ones across communities where, according to them, innocent people are allegedly subjected to inhuman treatment because of beliefs that they can cause the death of others through spiritual means.

The two victims also stressed the need for greater public awareness and institutional action to protect people from persecution based on unsubstantiated witchcraft accusations.

Responding, the advocacy group pledged to assist the victims by visiting and appealing to the leadership of the Community to reconsider their decision by reintegrating them fully into the community and ensuring full restoration of their fundamental rights. (The Guardian)

Update news