Outrage over church’s planned crusade to ‘kill suspected witches’ in Imo community

There was an outrage over a planned church programme against witchcraft scheduled for Mbieri town in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.

The crusade, titled, “That Witch Must Die”, will hold at Mercy and Power Deliverance Ministry, located along Marcon Estate, Opp Monkey Village Umuodu, Mbieri, within Owerri Capital Territory, on Friday, August 30, 2024, from 9 pm to dawn.

The crusade, which is being organized by one Apostle Dr Angel Uzoma (Owomowomo Fire), already, had billboards erected in different parts of the state, including the capital, Owerri, to announce the program.

Alarmed by the ugly consequences such programmes may breed within the community, an advocacy group, known as The Advocacy for Alleged Witches(AfAW), said the crusade must not be allowed to hold.

The group’s director, Leo Igwe therefore asked the state police command and the Department of State Services, to halt the plan by the pastor to mount the anti-witch programme because its outcome will result to the murder of suspected witches. 

Igwe warned that the event could incite witch hunts, citing past incidents that led to devastating consequences.

He pointed out that billboards advertising the program have already been put up across the state, including in Owerri, the capital.

The group noted that the crusade is being criticized for its potential to incite violence and persecution against alleged witches. 

AfAW emphasized the need for immediate action to prevent harm and ensure the safety of those who may be targeted.

“We are worried about this program because it could provoke witch hunts in the state,” Dr. Igwe stated. “While some may argue that this is an exercise of religious freedom, it is important to distinguish between freedom of belief and incitement to violence. This program crosses that line and must be condemned.”

The advocacy group also reminded authorities that witchcraft accusations are a criminal offense under Nigerian law, with those found guilty subject to imprisonment. AfAW urged state authorities, including the police and human rights agencies, to take swift action to stop the event and prevent Imo State from becoming a “witch-killing field.”

Also condemning the planned crusade, a security expert, simply identified as Dr. June, described it as an exercise in crime, warning that evil pastors should not be allowed to turn the state into a witch-killing field.

He said: “Some people may argue that this program is an exercise of freedom of religion or belief and any attempt to stop the program violates human rights. 

“Incidentally, this is not the case. It is important to distinguish exercise of religious or belief freedom from incitement of violence, attack and murder in the name of religion or belief. 

“Exercise of religious or belief freedom must be defended while incitement of violence, hatred and murder as in this case must be condemned. Witchcraft accusation is a form of death sentence. 

“Alleged witches have been attacked, tortured, or killed. More importantly, witchcraft accusation is an offense under the law in Nigeria. Those convicted of accusation or imputation of witchcraft are legally liable to imprisonment.

“So, this program is an exercise in crime. It incites hatred and violence against suspected witches. This event instigates and sanctifies accusations, persecutions, and murder of alleged witches”. 

In an article he published in The Nation on Monday, August 19, 2024, Emeka Omeihe commended the for raising an opposition against the publicly advertised anti-witch religious programme, which he said has serious merit. 

“Both the theme of the programme and our experience in allegations of witchcraft make it mandatory that our law enforcement agencies cannot afford to turn a blind eye to that potentially offensive and lawless church activity.

“‘That witch must die’ conveys the unmistakable impression that there exists a witch. And when found, death penalty albeit, through jungle justice must be the punishment for it. But that goes against the laws of the country which criminalises suspicions for witchcraft or any illegal action taken to avenge the suspicion.

“So the advocacy group was well on point when it contended that the programme will instigate, sanctify accusation of witchcraft and possibly lead to the murder of suspected witches. That is the reading of the message contained in the billboards mounted in different parts of the state. Or, how else will the alleged witches die during the church event if not through jungle justice?

“Even if the pastor could also procure the death of suspected witches through some supernatural means or touted power of miracles, that also cannot be justified on any ground. There is everything wrong with the theme of the church crusade and the activities to actualise it to be allowed to proceed as advertised”, Omeihe said.

He expressed surprise that it took the protestations of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches to draw the attention of the law enforcement agencies to this potent danger. 

“That is the case which people have against the security agencies when they accuse them of not being proactive enough or intelligence driven in the performance of their duties. It is a huge disappointment that billboards advertising death sentence for witch suspects could find their way in and around Imo State with the security agencies looking the other way.

“Not with our experience in issues concerning alleged witchcraft. The reported jungle justice which has come to denote the fate of witch suspects across the country does not leave anybody in the comfort of mind that witch suspects during the event will fare any better. There must be suspected witches during the event (either within the congregation or outside of it) else its purpose will be defeated.

“Witches will not die if there are no witches. The programme theme admits the existence of witches together with all the devilish powers allegedly attributed to them. Its objective is therefore to instigate, provoke, find and kill a witch or witches. It must achieve this objective for the campaign to garner popular appeal and succeed.

“There is the temptation to rationalise the church programme as part of the Pastor’s right to freedom of worship as effectively guaranteed by the country’s constitution. The instant case is a warped conception of religious freedom because the programme seeks to criminalise and levy death sentence on witch suspects. The laws of this country do not allow a church such powers. That is the dividing line between freedom of worship and the kind of activity the religious group is about to embark upon.

“This is not the first time programmes that deal with witchcraft will generate heated controversy. If a  purely academic seminar organised by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN could generate demonstrations with calls for its outright cancelation, it is inconceivable how one in which alleged witches are to face jungle justice can be allowed to hold.

“An international conference on witchcraft slated for UNN in 2019 with the theme, “Witchcraft, meanings, factors and practices” had led to serious protests from various religious organisations. The demonstrating church groups had alleged that the event was all about the gathering of witches and called for its outright put off.

“The pressure was so much so that the UNN authorities had to prevail on the organisers of the conference the, Prof. B.I.C. Ijomah of the Centre for Policy Studies and Research to change the theme to, “Dimensions of Human Behaviour” before it was allowed to proceed. But that controversy forced the keynote speaker, Prof. David Ker to withdraw.

“The Director of the centre Prof. Egodi Uchendu, regretted how ordinary academic conference was twisted out of context to create confusion even as she expressed happiness that the controversy did not significantly affect the participation level. Nonetheless, the conference gave a good account of itself”.

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