85-yr-old woman escaped lynching on suspicion of being a witch in Delta

isaac dachen

November 12, 2015 3:07 PM

An 85-year-old woman was almost lynched to death on the allegation of witchcraft.

A witch (For illustration purpose only)

An 85-year old woman who hails from Oleh, in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, was lucky to be alive after some residents of the community descended on her and almost lynched her on the suspicion that she is a witch and had killed many people in the area, including her children.

It was gathered that the weird-looking octogenarian was found in a swampy spot in the town after some residents reportedly heard the sounds of someone wailing at about 3am and when they summoned courage to come out of their houses, they allegedly found the elderly woman who was clad in a blouse and a piece of cloth tied around her waist, lying on the ground.

A resident who witnessed the scene, narrated:

“When the people got there, they discovered that the woman could barely walk, so they raised an alarm and gradually a crowd began to gather.

When she was brought out from the swamp, they interrogated her and she confessed that she was a witch. She actually said she was on her way from a night party when she found herself in the pit."

The said confession drew the ire of the people who brutalised her, hitting her with all sorts of objects before she was rescued by some of her children and men of Oleh vigilante team who stormed the scene and dispersed the crowd.

The woman's children later said their mother was not a witch but that had she had been suffering from brain disorder after an accident she had sometime ago.

isaac dachen