Witchcraft in Northern Nigeria and the Need for Action against Persecution -By Aliyu Bashir Limanci

While the murder of Igbo businessman,Chief Okechukwu Nweke, accused of witchcraft by some roque elements in Ebonyi State has generated a renewed but delicate debate about a superstitious existence of witches in our society, the media are somewhat circumspect if not reluctant to play their parts in campaigning against the continued dehumanization of innocent people accused of this unfortunate myth called witchcraft. 

Just a few kilometers from Bauchi metropolis, there located a village called Bambaro where people used to kill their older people over a slight accusation of witchcraft because they think it is necessary to stop them from infecting other people. While the story may discomfort many a reader, persecution of people being linked to witchcraft and sorcery is one of the few things that unite Nigerians irrespective of ethnicity or religion. 

Based on the little research I conducted on this small village, what I find striking about witchcraft is many people were out of duress being forced to confess to being witches on the promise that they will be cured by native doctors and their admittance to the witchcraft only leads to more mysteries that would probably continue to haunt them for life. 

The fact that I witnessed a lot of happenstances whereby mostly elderly women are, out of the blue, accused of witchcraft and without any iota of evidence they are ostracized, persecuted or even killed, I am bold to write this epistle in order to call the attention of the authorities and media to help take a serious action against the persecution of the victims who are unjustifiably made to suffer from a superstition they know nothing about. The common belief, which is not true, is the witches attack people by infecting them with spiritually and eventually kill them. The danger is many people suffering from the persecution live in remote villages where access to media is limited, where security forces are rarely present and the villagers are not educated enough as to know the harmful effects of their follies. 

In northern Nigeria where I live, I witnessed a situation whereby a woman who was accused of witchcraft after her son tragically succumbed to throat cancer but the general belief was she was behind his untimely death because she was a witch. The psychological pressures were so much that she contemplated suicides several times and she was only rescued by her son-in-law who evacuated her and helped her rebuild her life in a new environment far away from the area.

Niger, Bauchi, Plateau, Taraba, Adamawa and Gombe are some of the worst places to be accused of witchcraft or necromancy. The problem is worsened by the heterogeneous mixtures of ethnic groups in the states, making the fight against this persecution even more daunting. 

As the world continues to move away from superstitions and embraces more practical approaches towards solving its problems, witchcraft is one of the mythical vestiges of the past centuries which is still prevalent in some African countries. There is no evidence to support the existence of witchcraft and people from all walks of life should help lend their voices to curb the increasing persecution of people accused of witchcraft.  It is true that the copacetic efforts being made by certain activists have made a dent in targeted killings in southern Nigeria, but in the North, people recklessly continue to target innocent people on the pretext of witchcraft. The victim is somebody today and it could be us tomorrow. Let’s join hand to eradicate violence against alleged witches and we can only accomplish this onerous task if we lead and expand the campaigns to remote villages where the cases are prevalent. 

Aliyu Bashir Limanci writes from Gombe Road, Bauchi. 
bashiralmusawi@gmail.com