Village head orders lynching of suspected wizard

A village head in Bauchi State has been arrested for ordering the torture of a suspected wizard to death.

The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested the head of Larna'a village in Gabana ward of Warji local government area of Bauchi State, Gado Abdulkarim, over his alleged complicity in the death of a 72-year-old man, Adamu Muqaddas, on suspicion of being a wizard.

Police report has it that the 35-year-old Abdulkarim, had ordered the torture of the septuagenarian Muqaddas with a view to forcing him to confess to witchcraft. The man, however, died in the process.

Confirming the crime in a press statement, the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Haruna Mohammed, said the old man was rushed to the Warji General Hospital where he was certified dead by police detectives from Warji Division, who intervened at the scene of the crime.

On November 21, at about 1pm, one Adamu Muqaddas aged 72, was summoned by the village head of Larna’a, Gabana Ward in Warji Local Council based on the allegation that he was a wizard.

The village head ordered his subjects to subject the victim to torture, in the bid to force him to confess to the allegation. He eventually died in the process.

The police spokesperson added that three suspects has been arrested by the police in connection with the crime for conspiracy and culpable homicide.

According to DSP Mohammed, the arrested suspects include the village head, Gado Abdulkarim, 33-year-old Adamu Hassan and Ibrahim Musa, aged 47, all residents of Larna’a village