government area of Akwa Ibom State, the last
Christmas was a period of communal deliverance
from the bondage of witches and wizards. It was a
period where five old men who claimed to be elders
of the wizards' coven, which they call Nka Ibak
(wicked association) freely came out to confess their
atrocities.
Nobody in the community had suspected that the
very religious Sunday Charlie, Michael Charlie who
are blood brothers, Edet John Tom, Noah
Akpanakpan and Udo Edet Tom, have any link with
the death of their own children and other evils
ravaging the community since in the past 10 years.
Relief however came to the community through the
mysterious death of one Miss Imaobong Charlie, a
daughter of one of the wizards, who took ill
immediately she returned from Aba where she went
to buy some goods (ladies' clothes) to sell during the
Xmas season.
It was learnt that the lady, a widow, who had earlier
lost her Hausa husband, forcing her to return to her
family home, had taken ill on 22nd and died on
December 23. Attempt by the father to bury her the
same day attracted suspicion and as a result, the
community blocked him from burying the corpse.
While that was going on, another child of one of the
wizards was battling with death alleging that his
father had tied him and was about to kill him.
As a result of the alarm, the youths of the community
besieged the compound only to behold the man tying
a white goat, which was later realised that he was to
kill as a spiritual replication which would have
resulted in the son's death.
When confronted, the man allegedly admitted that
he wanted to kill the son by killing the goat,
pretending it was for Christmas celebration.
"When the youth tortured him, he confessed that he
was a wizard and that they were many in the
community. It was he who mentioned the other four
members of the group who the youth immediately
swooped on, but they were saved by the elders", the
acting village head of the community, Chief Charles
Akpan, told Saturday Sun. He added that when the
five men confessed to wizardry after the youths had
stormed their compounds, the community elders had
to rush to the police division at the local government
headquarters, Odot, but the police declined
involvement, saying they didn't want to get involved
in spiritual matters.
"We had to summon the entire village to listen to
them which confessed and promised that those
they they had held in captivity would be released.
They came with the white goat through which one of
them wanted to kill his son," Chief Akpan said.
It was gathered that, to confirm whether the five men
were actually wizards, a child who had been claiming
to be a witch in the neighbouring community was
brought and she identified all the five men as
members of her coven.
According to him, "One of them who wanted to deny
being involved soft-pedaled immediately the little
girl came round and commanded them to speak up.
It was there that all of them agreed that on
December 29, they would set free six young men and
women that they had planned to kill before the end
of January.
"So by midnight of that day, we, the elders, went to
where they directed us; they had bought another
goat and other items which they said would be used
for deliverance. And they conducted the deliverance
in their own way. It was as if we were watching
Nollywood. If we had known we could have
contracted a video camera man to cover it. They went
through spiritual protocol unimaginable to us the
laymen; killed the goat, mixed the blood with palm
wine, native gin plus some other concoction and
drank among while sitting on logs on banana stems.
After this they took an oath that those they held
captives had been freed and that no young person
would henceforth die in the village through their
manipulations.
"To tell you the truth, I was afraid; and I immediately
felt like leaving the village and return to where I used
to reside until my father died and I was asked to
come home and be the interim village head till a new
one is appointed," Akpan said.
He said but for the maturity exhibited by the elders,
the youth would have killed the wizards and that
could have plunged the community into a serious
problem since the police who had earlier declined
intervention, would have descended on the village to
arrest people. Those who the wizards claimed to have
been held captives for killing, would equally not
have been rescued because if any of the wizards had
been killed the process of recuing their captive would
have been blurredimpossible.
One of those held captive by his wizard father and
was equally rescued, an 18-year old Emem Sunday
Charlie, expressed delight that he and the entire
family had be rescued from the witchcraft gulag that
their father, Sunday Charlie, had dragged them into.
Emem, an electrical technician, who resides in Port
Harcourt, told Saturday Sun; "We used to have bad
dreams in the entire family. Our father once said he
had sold our sister to a spirit husband as such she
would wake up naked every night even when she was
well dressed before going to bed. And I personally
used to experience severe pains in the neck. But
after they delivered us, the pain is no more."
The entire village is now waiting to see whether the
atrocities the old wizards used to cause at the end
and beginning of every year, would stop, or whether
the deliverance was a ruse to momentarily save their
neck from the irate youths. But the youths have
vowed to kill them should any anything happen to
any young person in the village or outside
henceforth.
Sent From David Aniemeka
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