It was an unbelievable situation in Oshodi, Lagos State yesterday as a bird was reportedly seen turning into a woman.
Many international community and some enlightened Africans believe such thing as witchcraft is barbaric but in some part of Nigeria and some other parts of Africa who have in-depth knowledge of it, still thinks it exists.
In the video, the woman’s skin was pilled, sitting restless and looked like someone who needed urgent medical attention.
A rights group in the United Kingdom (UK), the Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network (WHRIN), has called for more enlightenment on the Ebola virus.
WHRIN’s Executive Director Gary Foxcroft said superstitious beliefs and inadequate health facilities may lead to the spread of the virus.
The activist urged the United Nations (UN) bodies, governments, aid agencies and civil society organisations (CSOs) to demystify the causes of the outbreak.
He noted that proper enlightenment would enable communities to understand that the disease is not caused by witchcraft to curb its spread.
“Ebola is not caused by witchcraft. Rather, it is an infectious disease with a rational, scientific explanation of how it was created, how it is spread and how it can be treated. There is a huge amount of work that needs to be done to demystify the medical condition that is commonly associated with witchcraft across West Africa. They need to use all media tools at their disposal to send a strong message to communities,” Foxcroft said.
Two men – children of the unidentified elderly woman who was almost lynched by a mob in the Ajegunle area of Lagos after being accused of witchcraft – have identified the victim as their mother.
They said the octogenarian was not a witch, but a victim of the nature and had been missing from home.
PUNCH Metro had reported on Wednesday that the elderly woman was attacked by a mob which accused her of being a black bird that transformed into a human being.
It was alleged that while being beaten, the woman confessed that she was a witch and had flown to Ibadan, Oyo State for a meeting but got tired on returning from Lagos and fell from the sky.
The woman was subsequently rescued by the police and taken to the Area B Command.
However, sources at the command told PUNCH Metro that two sons of the victim came to the command on Thursday after seeing their mother’s picture in the newspapers.
The source said the two men explained that their mother had wandered off some days ago and they had been looking for her.
The men, who said they lived in the Iju Ishaga area of the state were said to have been puzzled as to how their mother walked all the way to Ajegunle.
A policeman at the command said, “This morning (Thursday), two men came to the command claiming that they were the sons of the woman. The men said their mother was not a witch and were very angry with the manner the rumour was spreading.
“They said they were shocked that youths could attack an old woman in her 80s and they were even asking for justice because the woman sustained bruises on her head.”
Another police source at the command said that the Area commander, ACP Ndubueze Anene, had transferred the woman to the command headquarters in Ikeja for further investigation.
He said the sons had also gone to the headquarters to provide evidence that the woman was indeed their mother.
Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, told PUNCH Metro that the woman was not a witch and warned residents of the state against jungle justice.
When asked if the woman had been released, Braide said, “Yes she has been released to her son. The family said due to her old age, she was very ill and was brought from Ibadan to Lagos to stay with one of her sons.
“The woman’s daughter-in-law said she went to buy drugs for her nearby, but by the time she returned home, the woman had left the house.
They said the octogenarian was not a witch, but a victim of the nature and had been missing from home.