A 98-year-old woman identified as Magarret Okpole is currently hospitalized and said to be in critical condition after she was flogged by her kinsmen over alleged witchcraft in Otor-Iyede, Delta State.
The police in the state have gone after the suspects who are currently on the run. The command’s spokesperson, DSP Bright Edafe, said on Saturday, April 24, that the command swung into action after the receipt of a petition from Mrs Alice Jete, daughter of the nonagenarian.
Mrs Jete had, in the petition, called on Human Rights organizations and the Nigerian Police to bring the perpetrators to book. She noted that the sad incident happened on Friday, March 19, She disclosed that her mother was not a witch and was falsely accused, clubbed and dragged on the ground into a room to be burnt to death.
According to The Nation, the unfortunate incident was reportedly masterminded by a relative named Wada Okpole. A video of the incident saw old Okpole and another woman said to be her married mate seated on sandy floor, pleading for their lives. They were flogged repeatedly on the head and sides with plantain stems by at least four men, after which both were forcefully dragged on the ground into a room where they were locked in.
A voice could be heard saying, “These are the witches of Otor-Iyede. They can kill their children for anything…” Another asked if they (women) had released the person they planned to kill in their coven. It (voice) promptly shouted that they (women) agreed the person had been released when ‘Oga Wada’ appeared on the scene, in a seeming attempt to strike the women.
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