Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
It is difficult to distinguish between facts and myths when it comes to witchcraft activities and practices in Cross River State.
Despite the fact that, following Badagry in the West, the next place Christianity berthed and took roots in Nigeria was Calabar, allusions to witchcraft activities and beliefs in related practices are still prevalent in the people’s daily lives, lending credence to the fact that their mindset is steeped in primordial thoughts.
For example, if a governor abandons a project or a program, the general assumption is that he has been bewitched; if a young man overspeeds, crashes his car, and dies in the process, the conclusion is that witches took control of his mind; if a young girl aborts pregnancy and dies in the process, witches must be to blame; and if a cat meows at night, witches are congregating.
Basically, nothing happens naturally in the state, be it death, sickness, poverty, being fired from a job, or any other calamity.
In most cases, innocent people have been labeled witches and subjected to various forms of punishment, such as public flogging, being burned to death, being excommunicated, having their hands and legs tied, and being thrown into a river. You name it, it’s there.
Reports from across the state in the last year indicate some brutal killings, attacks, and dehumanization of so-called witches. For example, One General Iron, a criminal warlord in Boki in the state’s central region, lined up several elderly men and women, including his mother, and murdered them with machetes because they were witches and wizards. Some months later, two widows returning from church were confronted by youths who accused them of being responsible for the community’s frequent deaths of young people. The women’s hands and legs were bound, and they were tortured to death for several hours.
The most recent was conducted on the outskirts of Calabar, with five out of fifteen people chosen at random.
Youths in the Odukpani Local Government Area’s Ndon Owong community were labeled witches, beaten to death with sticks, and buried in shallow graves.
When the Saturday Vanguard arrived, the community was completely deserted. Except for a few “brave” individuals, everyone had fled for fear of being apprehended by police. Johnson Nyong, one of the brave individuals, stated that what prompted the attack was a confession by a nine-year-old girl, Ekanma, who identified fifteen members of the village as witches.
“A few weeks ago, Efa, the father of our village’s only lawyer, died in his sleep, and a few days later, the lawyer also died, and fingers point to witches being responsible, and as God would have it, Ekanma confessed, and so the youths had no choice but to take action.”
He claimed that the community was constantly under attack by witches and that the only way to deal with them was to kill or exterminate them.
“A young man will secure a job, only to be fired under questionable circumstances; a young person will graduate from school a few months later; a man will drive his car to this village, only to be involved in an accident and die; all because of these wicked people you claim are being killed unjustly.” Witches are the wicked ones, not the youths who are bringing peace to the community.”
Prior to the recent incident, a man in this same Odukpani in Okurikang village took his twin daughters to the outskirts of town and poisoned malt drink and gave it to them, killing the innocent girls. His motivation for acting was that the twins were witches who were causing him to suffer.
A walk around Calabar reveals many “Skolombo” children roaming the streets and sleeping rough because their parents and relatives accused them of being witches and wizards and threw them out of their homes.
Surprisingly, the belief in witchcraft is not limited to the less educated members of society, but also includes pastors, lawyers, academics, and others.
Dr. Ndim Eyo, a lecturer at the University of Calabar, stated that witchcraft is not a myth but a reality that affects many people.
“I have been a victim of this evil.” I graduated with a PhD in Linguistics and made every effort to find work.
During Senator Imoke’s tenure as governor, my name was on the list for appointment, but it vanished the day before the announcement. My mother had to conduct some investigations only to discover that her younger sister was to blame for my predicament. Before I got this teaching job, we had to take some drastic measures. Witches dislike good things, and everything that happens to them is the result of their wickedness.”
According to Chief Okon Ita of Ikot Mesembe village, most of the time when the youths carry out the action, the traditional rulers and elders of the community are helpless, and any attempt to stop them is met with anger from the youths.
The police, for their part, say they are doing everything possible to stop the spate of witchcraft-related killings across the state.
According to Ms Irene Ugbo, spokesman for the Cross River Police Command, several arrests are usually made and some are charged in court after investigations.
“Our responsibility is to arrest and charge after a thorough investigation, but what the court does is up to it.” Some of the perpetrators have been sentenced to prison, while others have been released.”
