Witch hunt in Enugu: AfAW welcomes Medical Treatment of Victim and Police Investigation of Incident -By Leo Igwe

The Advocacy for Alleged Witches, in collaboration with the Ministry for Gender and Women Affairs, is sponsoring a medical examination of the woman accused and abused for witchcraft in Enugu, southern Nigeria. This intervention underscores the group’s zero tolerance of witch hunts and its commitment to ending abuses linked to witchcraft beliefs and ritual attacks in Nigeria. AfAW advocates met with the state commissioner for Gender yesterday, and she pledged to help rehabilitate the victim. An advocate stated: “We just finished with the meeting with the commissioner now and she said that they’ll take the woman to Parklane, which is a government-owned hospital, for a thorough body check-up…”

AfAW is working with officers at the ministry and other agencies to ensure that the woman gets all the care and relief that she needs. In a related development, the police have ordered an investigation into the incident. In a statement titled, ENUGU CP ORDERS INVESTIGATION INTO VIRAL VIDEO OF ALLEGED TRIAL BY ORDEAL AND ASSAULT OF WOMAN IN NKANU EAST, POLICE VISIT VICTIM, INTENSIFY EFFORTS TO ARREST SUSPECTS”, the police public relations officer, Daniel Ndukwe states: “The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, psc, mspsp, smicm, has ordered the State CID to investigate a viral video depicting the alleged trial by ordeal and assault of a woman in Amafu Village, Ugbawka, Nkanu East LGA. The victim has been identified as Chinenye Okonkwo, who is around 60 years old. Following the video, Police operatives from Nkanu East Division visited the victim and obtained her statement. Preliminary findings indicate that she was allegedly subjected to severe abuse, including being forced to eat human faeces, over accusations of witchcraft and responsibility for the death of her husband’s brother’s wife. Efforts are ongoing to identify and arrest the perpetrators, who are currently at large.

The Advocacy for Alleged Witches welcomes this police investigation of the incident. Witch persecution persists due to impunity and ineffective policing. Few cases of witch hunts are reported to the police, and even fewer are investigated or prosecuted because police are not diligent and too often compromise the investigation process. In most cases, police officers are not interested in justice or law enforcement. They are more interested in profiting from the case, extorting money from petitioners and suspects, than in professionally carrying out the investigation and prosecution of suspects.

AfAW urges the police not to compromise the investigation of this woman’s case and to ensure that the perpetrators are identified and brought to justice, as they have pledged.

Leo Igwe directs the Advocacy for Alleged Witches