Witchcraft in Nigeria: The man who fights ‘witch hunters’

Activist Leo Igwe is on the forefront of serving to folks accused of witchcraft in Nigeria, as witchcraft can spoil their lives and even result in their lynching.

“I could not take it anymore. You realize, simply being round and watching folks being killed randomly,” Dr Igwe advised the BBC.

After finishing his PhD in spiritual research in 2017, he felt stressed. He wrote extensively about witchcraft and was annoyed that academia didn’t permit him to problem it head-on.

The BBC has seen proof of Nigerian Pentecostal pastors performing rituals concentrating on alleged witches, and Dr Igwe stated the apply was not unusual in a rustic the place many individuals imagine within the supernatural.

Warning: This text incorporates particulars that some readers could discover disturbing.

Because of this, Dr. Igwe based In Protection of So-Referred to as Witches, a corporation devoted to “utilizing compassion, motive and science to save lots of the lives of these affected by superstition.”

Dr. Igwe’s prevention work has additionally expanded to Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Jude, 33, is a type of the group helps in Nigeria. It intervened in August when he was charged and assaulted in Benue State.

Jude, a glazier who additionally works part-time at a financial institution, stated he encountered a boy on his strategy to work one morning holding two heavy jugs of water, which prompted him to turn out to be within the boy’s bodily agility. commented.

The boy did not take these feedback kindly, however he stored going.

Later, about 15 folks adopted Jude and threw stones at him. Amongst them was the boy he had simply greeted.

“Younger folks additionally began attacking me, making an attempt to set me on fireplace,” Jude stated.

He was accused of inflicting the boy’s penis to vanish by means of witchcraft, an accusation that shocked him and was unfaithful.

In some elements of West Africa, experiences of lacking males should not unusual.

This can be a Corot syndromea psychiatric dysfunction often known as genitourinary or retraction hysteria.

It’s a psychological dysfunction characterised by an intense and irrational concern of the reproductive organs being misplaced or retracted into the sufferer’s physique.

Dr Igwe stated Jude misplaced his job on the financial institution due to the accusation.

A video of a violent witch-hunting brawl additionally started circulating on Fb, which is when Dr. Igwe and his crew took discover and started investigating.

“They introduced him [Jude] “You realize, being bare and being brutalized,” Dr. Igwe stated. “We begin by localizing it – the place did this occur?”

On WhatsApp, Dr. Igwe has some affect.

Over the previous few years, he has established and managed WhatsApp teams for various states in Nigeria.

The teams are made up of dozens of involved residents, whom he calls “advocates.” They share movies and images of viral accusations of witches and attempt to intervene when accusations seem on their patch.

“We contacted him [Jude]. We despatched him some cash to deal with his wounds. We assist him reintegrate into society,” Dr Igwe stated.

He stated “alleged witch advocacy teams” additionally wrote to the financial institution in an try to forestall Jude’s dismissal, however they obtained no response.

The group additionally pledged to pay for Jude’s school bills, hoping it could present him with a contemporary begin.

Many individuals in Africa’s most populous nation imagine in witches and the evil powers they wield and stay in concern.

Monetary issues, sickness or infertility had been usually blamed on witchcraft.

These accused are sometimes susceptible. More often than not, they’re both very younger or very previous, generally have psychological or bodily disabilities, and sometimes stay in poverty.

in line with nigeria watchAn internet site that displays violence within the nation by means of media experiences reveals that eight folks died in 2024 as a direct results of witchcraft accusations.

The BBC has not independently verified the figures however has beforehand reported on assaults and murders of individuals accused of witchcraft in nigeria and Exceed.

“Perception in witchcraft or [the] Paranormal exercise in Nigeria is a tradition,” stated Dr. Olale Kayode, a senior lecturer in African indigenous religions on the College of Ibadan.

“It’s believed that witches are one of many supernatural beings created by God to fire up affairs on earth,” he added, noting that it’s ignorance that drives folks to advertise witch hunts.

He blamed Nigeria’s witch hunts primarily on the proselytizing of “overseas religions” akin to Christianity and Islam, however acknowledged that conventional religions additionally “wage conflict” towards witches.

Dr Igwe stated some influential Christian Pentecostal pastors within the nation had strengthened the superstitious perception in witchcraft and believed “any accused witch is a hazard to society, doesn’t deserve mercy and needs to be killed” ”.

Whereas a few of these church occasions are marketed as deliverance companies, one of many occasions in August was marketed with the theme “Witches Should Die.”

The church behind the occasion follows its 20,000 followers extensively on social media.

When Dr Igwe noticed the commercial on an promoting hoarding in Imo State, he wrote a number of petitions to the native authorities and printed articles for the native media in an try and cancel the undertaking.

It went forward anyway – Protection of Alleged Witches despatched out observers and continued to foyer towards related incidents.

The church liable for the incident has not but responded to the BBC’s request for remark.

Dr Igwe stated nobody had died because of the actions in Imo State, however the “witches should die” rhetoric from the church might result in hatred and violence.

Many Nigerian church buildings reject this angle.

“We all know that Jesus’ ministry was to forged out demons relatively than to kill these possessed by demons,” stated Julius Osimen, senior pastor of World Citizen Church in Lagos.

Mr. Osimmen described any sermon that inspired witch-hunting as a misunderstanding of the biblical textual content.

“When Jesus got here, he got here with a greater understanding. You do not kill people who find themselves possessed by demons or oppressed by demons, you simply forged the demons out,” he stated.

Dr. Igwe’s work comes at a private price. He stated he had been crushed for intervening on behalf of these accused of being witches and acknowledged that his spouse and kids had considerations for his security.

However the activist stated nothing might restrain him or forestall him from intervening: “My realization is that I’ve to step up and attempt to lead.”

In Nigeria, it’s a crime to accuse or threaten to accuse anybody of being a witch or possessing witchcraft powers.

The utmost penalty is 2 years in jail. Nonetheless, prosecutions and convictions are uncommon.

In 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a decision condemning witchcraft-related human rights abuses, however such accusations persist throughout a lot of Africa and additional afield, together with India and Papua New Guinea.

“Making an attempt to finish political persecution is a problem, and we should not romanticize it in any means, making an attempt to say, ‘Oh, that is a part of our tradition,'” Dr. Igwe stated.

“Killing dad and mom is just not a part of our tradition. Killing harmless folks is just not a part of our tradition.