Trial by ordeal, witch-hunt, dehumanisation, banishment and other forms of human right abuses are becoming the order of the day in Ebonyi State.

In the state, many people have been paraded naked, beaten and tortured or killed by youths in their communities with their property destroyed on the allegation of diabolism and witchcraft.

HRH Ugadu Ogba

Joseph Agwu banished from his community

Some of the victims were accused of murdering their family members and members of communities through occult means. In many cases, mischievous individuals connived with local prophets, and traditional priests to carry out the ugly trend.

Local mobs in the communities, after torturing the victims, subject them to oath-taking and force them to drink harmful and poisonous concoctions which led to their deaths or damage their health. The mobs have also destroyed houses, farms and crops of the victims after subjecting them to the inhuman and degrading treatments in public places. Those who are often targeted are political opponents, elderly, widows and other vulnerable persons in the state in most cases.

Places where the incidents have been recorded in the state included Izzi, Okposi, Afikpo, Ohaukwu, Ishielu, Ezza North, Ezza South and other places. Most of the victims who survived the human degradation have not recovered from the barbaric acts as they continue to count their losses.

Nnennaya Chuwu forced to drink concotion

Lamentations of victims

Joseph Agwu, a native of Ekwashi, Ngbo autonomous community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state, was banished from the area on 4th August, 2025 after being tortured by villagers who tied palm fronds all over his body and paraded him round the community, including market squares.

Onwe Nwamaka

The villagers accused him of killing his brother’s child as well as other people in the area through diabolism. The villagers set his belongings, including his two compounds ablaze, and banished him for five years from the community after parading him against the plea of their traditional ruler.

Thomas Eze

Since that 4th August, the septuagenarian, who has been taking refuge in his maternal home, Umuezeaka autonomous community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area, has been in exile without any effort to take him back to his community.

He narrated his ordeal thus: “I married four wives. One is late and the remaining three have many children and grandchildren for me. I am a native of Ekwashi Ngbo autonomous community in Ohaukwu LGA of Ebonyi State.

“This happened on 4th August 2025 and since then I have been in my maternal home in Umuezeaka autonomous Community Ohaukwu Local Government Area. 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, but 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 the orders.

“My children who tried to stop them from assaulting me were also assaulted, despite that the search parties didn’t find any evidence to 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 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.

“According to our tradition, they are supposed to let me take an oath of innocence and not to beat and banish me from my family, lands and farms. After the said oath, if I am guilty as they claimed, I will die before the end of the year. If not, I will live to care for my family,” he lamented.

The story of 65-yearold Nnennaya Donatus-Chukwu of Mebiokpa Amaeke, Okposi community in Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state is even more pathetic. She also suffered inhuman treatment unleashed on her and two other members of the community by their village youths over the alleged killing of her husband ‘s nephew, Innocent Chukwu through witchcraft.

The said late Innocent Chukwu reportedly died in a road accident on his way home from Calabar, Cross River State to continue erection of his building. 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 said was too close to their family deity.

Said the woman: “I was behind my house in the village where I was processing some palm fruits into palm oil on 21st February 2025 when a multitude of youths invaded our compound, chanting war songs and started destroying everything.

“Our windows and doors, household items, fully stocked yam barn, goat pens, 50 gallons of palm oil, my box of wrappers, those of my children, our motorcycles, solar panels and inverters, mattresses etc were destroyed.

“On sighting them, I hid myself but they later found me and beat me black and blue, accusing me of causing the death 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. 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.

“After some time, 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.

“Rather, they took me and the other two persons back to our compound where 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 rural village. Since then, I’ve been on admission at the hospital,” the victim lamented.

On his part, first son of the victim, Ogbonnaya Donatus regretted that the youths also went to his personal compound and destroyed property worth about N50 million for alleged witchcraft perpetuated by his mother

“I call on both state and federal government to intervene in this issue. My property destroyed is not less than N50 million despite that I was not one of those directly accused of the alleged witchcraft,” he told Saturday Sun.

Kingsley Ibeh was also accused of witchcraft. Ibeh who hails from Afikpo area of the state said his accusers mixed faeces and fermented cassava and rubbed the mixture all over his body.

He further alleged that the villagers stripped him naked, tied rope on his waist and instructed women to parade him round the market in the area.

He called for arrest and prosecution of all those who dehumanised him.

He disclosed that the villagers accused him of causing misfortunes in the area, including causing deaths of some members of the community through diabolism.

He said: “I was accused of witchcraft in the month of June 2025. During the execution, my accusers mixed faeces and fermented cassava and rubbed the mixture all over my body. As if that was not enough, they striped me half naked, tied rope on my waist and instructed the women to drag me on the rope round our market,” he lamented.

Mrs Onwe Nwamaka from Ebele village, Umuogudu Akpu Ngbo community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state and her children, have been banished from the area after her husband was banished also for alleged witchcraft.

She said there have been many issues in her husband’s family since nine years of her marriage.

She said her husband’s brother became sick and later died of the sickness and her husband was accused of being responsible for his death.

The woman alleged that immediately the husband’s brother died, his brothers started accusing the man of being behind his death and he was banished from the community. She said she had not set eyes on her husband since then.

Nwamaka, who was later banished from the community alongside her children, narrated her ordeal: “I’ve 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 died later. His brothers alleged that he was the one that killed the man.

“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. They reported me to our traditional ruler and said that they wanted to go and look for what killed my husband. We don’t have what we are eating now, our traditional ruler has been the one feeding us since they harvested all our crops and destroyed our farms.

“They have destroyed our economic trees, household belongings and every other property. I have not seen my husband since they banished him in 2022. I have not heard from him since the banishment and he has no phone for contact.

“My children have dropped out of school since they banished my husband. I want my husband to be taken back to his place, I want his houses to be rebuilt because they have destroyed our houses. We have no house anymore.”

Thomas Eze, from Ebele, Umuogudu Akpu in Ngbo community, Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state is still having bruises arising from the severe injuries inflicted on him by his villagers.

He was accused of burying a charm in his farm by one of the villagers and the villagers alleged that he was responsible for the misfortunes of some members of the community.

All efforts by the traditional ruler of the community to stop the people from torturing him, proved abortive. He was bound with ropes and tortured with sharp objects till he sustained severe injuries. He was subsequently banished from the community and warned not to set his toes on the community.

His words: “I was accused of witchcraft by a member of our community. He said that I buried charms in my land and I told him no, I didn’t do such a thing.

“They insisted that I buried charms on my land. I told him that I have been severally accused of this by the community and I was made to take an oath to prove my innocence.

“I then went and reported the incident to the traditional ruler

“The man went and informed our community members. Our community members said I should leave the community and banished me immediately. Before they banished me, they beat me up and inflicted several injuries on me. They tied my hands at the back.

“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.”

Action barbaric, wicked

The traditional ruler of Ngbo community, Godwin Ugadu Ogba condemned the actions of people of the area against the victims, describing 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.

“They said they are government, that no one tells them what they should be doing in the community. 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 dehumanising and banishing people,” he said.

A member of the community, Onwe Sunday called for sensitisation in the community to end the menace.

He said those perpetrating the acts are illiterates who never travelled out of the community. He advocated diplomacy in the community when sensitising the people to avoid being killed as according to him, those perpetrating the evil are heartless and can kill at will.

“Poverty and ignorance are the causes of what they are doing. When you go to the village, you see them selling Indian hemp indiscriminately.

“We need sensitisation in this community to stop these things they are doing. They need orientation, they need somebody to be going to them to talk about what they are doing and caution must be taken in talking to them because they are illiterate and they behave anyhow.

“If you want to talk to them when you get there, you must be diplomatic, otherwise they will kill you. These people are evil and they don’t reason like humans. They are an angry mob,” Onwe said.

The community had, in November 2024, stripped two teenage girls naked and flogged them to near-death on allegation of stealing fowls. The girls were forced to parade the community naked with the fowls (chickens) they allegedly stole.

The incident happened in Ojiegbe in the community. The video of their dehumanisation went viral on social media and the state police command arrested two members of the community who super-headed the torture.

The suspects, Dennis Ali and Ituma Sunday were later arraigned and remained in Abakaliki correctional centre after investigation by the police. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the state has called for an end to the human right abuses. The commission described the acts as gross human rights violation.

Speaking to Saturday Sun, the state Coordinator of the commission, Christopher Okorie said the inhuman treatment has become a pandemic. He noted that it is difficult to fight the ugly trend when the fighter believes strongly in the superstitions.

Okorie said: “This issue of unlawful accusations, meting out human rights violation at citizens of the state, is grossly against the law. It is also criminal in nature and now that all these matters are all coming up from here and there, they must be looked into.

“Unfortunately this ignorance is perpetuated by some human rights activists and even some members of law enforcement agents.

“It’s difficult to fight against the ills of superstition when the fighters believe strongly in those superstitions.

“We must find a way to first destroy the seeming appearance of those superstitions through constant enlightenment based on critical thinking, even when such approach is detested by those within the circles mentioned.”

Plea for action

On his part, the Director of Advocacy for Alleged Witches, Leo Igwe condemned the wanton destruction of property and inhuman treatment meted out to some residents of the communities people over alleged killing via witchcraft activities and called on the security agencies for in-depth investigations and prosecution of the culprits.

He said his group will continue to fight the acts through advocacy.

“We advocate to protect the rights of those whose rights are abused as a result of allegations of witchcraft. We emphasise on highlighting these allegations that often lead to banishment, torture, intimidation, killing and all sorts of human rights abuses.

“We also highlight abuses related to ritual attacks/believes. We are in Ebonyi to draw attention to these cases of human rights violations and hoping that we can rally supports of all the necessary institutions in the state to close the gaps. We advocate for stoppage of witch-hunt because witchcraft is superstition.”

Igwe has petitioned the state Deputy Speaker, Chinedu Onah, urging him to use his good offices to end the acts in his Ngbo community.

“The Advocacy for Alleged Witches is drawing your attention to cases of witch hunts and trial by ordeal in Ohaukwu in Ebonyi State. We understand that this community is a part of your constituency. We have received videos and reports of community members accused, paraded naked, beaten, tortured, disappeared or killed by youths in your community. Some of them have been accused of murdering other community members through occult means, without any evidence to support such claims and allegations.

“In many cases, mischievous individuals connive with local prophets, and traditional priests to carry out these atrocities. Local mobs in your community have beaten those so accused, subject them to oath-taking and forcing them to drink harmful and poisonous concoctions that have led to their death or health damage.

“Mobs from your community have destroyed houses, farms and crops of those so accused. They subject them to inhuman and degrading treatment in public squares. We have been informed that those who are often targeted are political opponents, the elderly, widows and other vulnerable members of the population.

“Hon Onah, these vile and repulsive practices in Ohaukwu must stop. The Advocacy for Alleged Witches urges you to use your good offices to end the abuses and ensure that perpetrators, including those who make false accusations of Igwo Nsi, magical poisoning, killing and harming others are brought to justice. Witchcraft accusation is against the law.

“Witch-hunting is against the constitution and violates human rights of Nigerians. As the deputy speaker, you need to act and help uphold the law, constitution and human rights of the people in Ohaukwu. You should not turn a blind eye to these abuses or enable them in any form.

“As a state actor, and a citizen, you need to ensure the state’s responsibility to protect citizens and victims of witch-hunts and false accusations of killing and harming people through magical means is guaranteed Thank you in anticipation of your support and intervention,” Igwe wrote. (By Uchenna Inya/The Sun)