The Enugu State Police Command has arrested a native doctor and father of a 26-year-old man identified as Chikwado Eze, who died in a coffin during a failed ‘success’ fortification ritual.
According to police, the fatal incident took place in Ugbaike, Enugu Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State
The native doctor was identified as Enuwa Odugu who hails from Inyi community in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area.
According to reports, Chikwado had secured a visa to travel abroad and returned to his village to share the news with his father, Mr. Uwakwe Eze.
To guarantee his success in his business overseas, it was gathered that his father insisted on taking him to “the eye of the gods” for
a fortification ritual which eventually went awry.
Speaking from the police cell, Enuwa confessed that his client died in the process of fortification which he claimed was due to Chikwado’ non-adherence to the prescribed ritual rules.
He said his client needed to be buried alive for 90 minutes to be properly fortified. Unfortunately, when Chikwado was exhumed after the stipulated time, he was found dead.
Confirming the incident in a statement, the spokesman for the police command said the 67-year-old father of the deceased and the 48-year-old native doctor had been arrested.
“The incident is alleged to have occurred when Uwakwe Eze took his son to the native doctor’s shrine for a ritual intended to fortify him with charms.
“However, during the ritual, the deceased was buried in a coffin but he unfortunately died in the process.
“He was rushed to the hospital and confirmed dead by the attending doctor, and his body deposited in the mortuary for preservation and autopsy.”
He said the native doctor had confessed to the crime and other previous performance of such rituals, attributing the death of the victim to his non-adherence to certain rules he earlier prescribed for him.
“The case is under investigation, and the suspects will be arraigned in court once investigations are concluded,” the police spokesman said.
