Bird Turned Woman’ Sons Surface, Deny Mum’s Witchcraft Accusation.
According to Punch:
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.
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.”
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