Nigerian witches: Man fights ‘witch hunters’

Activist Leo Igwe has been at the forefront of efforts to help those accused of witchcraft in Nigeria, as it can ruin their lives – and even lead to their execution.

“I can’t bear it anymore. You know, just stay and watch people get killed randomly,” Dr. Igwe told the BBC.

After completing his doctorate in religious studies in 2017, he felt restless. He wrote extensively about witchcraft and was frustrated that academia did not allow him to challenge the practice.

The BBC has seen evidence of Pentecostal pastors in Nigeria holding services targeting alleged witches, a practice that Dr Igwe said was not unusual in a country where many believe in the supernatural.

Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find disturbing.

So Dr. Igwe founded the Advocacy for Accused Witches, an organization focused on “using compassion, reason and science to save the lives of those affected by witchcraft.” credit”.

Dr. Igwe’s prevention work also extends to Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe and beyond.

One of the people the organization has helped in Nigeria is 33-year-old Jude. In August, it intervened when he was charged and beaten in Benue state.

Jude, an glazier who also works part-time in a bank, said that one morning, he was on his way to work when he met a boy carrying two heavy jugs of water, causing him to comment on the situation. the boy’s physical agility.

The boy did not accept the comments kindly and continued walking.

Afterwards, Jude was followed by a crowd of about 15 people who threw rocks at him. Among them was the boy he had welcomed earlier.

“The young men also started beating me, trying to burn me,” Jude said.

He was accused of causing the disappearance of the boy’s penis through witchcraft, an accusation that shocked him and was false.

Claims of missing men are not uncommon in some parts of West Africa.

That is a concerning statement Koro syndromea mental illness also known as genital retraction or disappearance hysteria.

This is a mental disorder characterized by intense and irrational fear of genitalia being lost or withdrawn into the victim’s body.

Dr Igwe said Jude lost his job at the bank because of the stigma surrounding the accusation.

A video of the violent witch-hunting altercation also began circulating on Facebook, which is when Dr. Igwe and his team took notice and began investigating.

“They took him [Jude] you know, naked, assaulted,” Dr. Igwe said. “First we localize it – where is this happening?”

On WhatsApp, Dr. Igwe is an influencer.

Over the past few years, he has built and managed WhatsApp groups for different states of Nigeria.

These groups have dozens of concerned citizens he calls “supporters.” They share viral witchcraft accusations videos and images and try to intervene when an allegation is made on their patch.

“We contacted him [Jude]. We sent him some money to take care of his wound. We rehabilitated him socially,” Dr. Igwe said.

The organization that campaigns for accused witches also wrote to the bank to try to stop Jude from taking the sack, he said, although they received no response.

The group has also pledged to pay for Jude’s college tuition in hopes of giving him a fresh start.

Many people in Africa’s most populous country believe in and live in fear of witches and the evil powers they believe to wield.

Financial problems, illness or infertility were often blamed on witchcraft.

People accused of crimes are often vulnerable. Most of them are very young or very old, sometimes they have mental or physical disabilities and often live in poverty.

According to Nigerian watchesa website that tracks violence in the country through media reports, there were eight deaths directly stemming from witchcraft accusations in 2024.

The BBC has not independently verified these figures, but has previously reported on assaults and murders of alleged witches. in Nigeria And beyond.

“Belief in witchcraft or [the] Dr. Olaleye Kayode, senior lecturer in African Indigenous Religions at the University of Ibadan, said the supernatural in Nigeria is cultural.

“It is believed that witches are one of the supernatural beings created by God to stir up problems on Earth,” he added, saying it was ignorance that led people to promote witchcraft. witch hunt.

He blamed witch hunts in Nigeria mainly on the preaching of “foreign religions” such as Christianity and Islam, but admitted traditional religions also “wage war” on witches .

Dr. Igwe said that some of the country’s influential Pentecostal Christian pastors reinforce superstitions about witchcraft and the view that “anyone accused of witchcraft is dangerous to society.” society, does not deserve mercy and must be killed.

While some of this church’s events are marketed as rescue services, in August one of them was advertised with the theme “That Witch Must Die.”

The church behind the event widely followed the event with 20,000 followers on social media.

When Dr. Igwe saw a billboard in Imo state advertising it, he wrote many petitions to the local government, as well as several articles to the local media, trying to request its cancellation.

It continued anyway – the Witch Campaign allegedly sent observers and continued to campaign against similar events.

The church responsible did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

No one was killed at the event in Imo state, Dr. Igwe said, but “witches must die” rhetoric from churches could lead to hatred and violence.

And many churches in Nigeria oppose such attitudes.

“Casting out demons and not killing demon-possessed people is what we know about Jesus’ ministry,” said Julius Osimen, a senior pastor at Global Citizen Church in Lagos.

Mr. Osimen described any preaching that encourages witch hunting as a misinterpretation of Bible verses.

“When Jesus came, He came with better understanding. You don’t kill possessed or oppressed people, you simply cast out demons,” he said.

Dr. Igwe’s work has come at a high cost. He said he was beaten three times for intervening on behalf of people accused of witchcraft and admitted his wife and children had expressed concerns for his safety.

But the activist said that nothing could restrain him or prevent him from intervening: “I realized that I had to step forward and try to provide leadership.”

In Nigeria, it is an offense to accuse or threaten to accuse any person of being a witch or having witchcraft powers.

It carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison. However, prosecutions and convictions are rare.

In 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning human rights violations related to witchcraft, yet such accusations continue to persist across Africa as well as Further regions include India and Papua New Guinea.

“Trying to end witch hunting is a challenge, and we shouldn’t romanticize it in any way by trying to say, ‘Oh, it’s part of our culture,” Dr. Igwe said. ta'”.

“Killing parents is not part of our culture. Killing innocent people is not part of our culture.”