Man Dies During ‘Fortification Ritual’, Police Arrest Father, Native Doctor

The Enugu State Police Command says it has arrested one Enuwa Odugu, a native doctor and Uwakwe Eze for conspiracy and murder of one Chikwado Celestine Eze who is Uwakwe’s son.

According to a statement by the Command’s spokesperson, Daniel Ndukwe, the death of Chikwado allegedly occurred when his father Uwakwe took him to the native doctor’s shrine for rituals intended to fortify him with charms.

However, during the ritual, the deceased was said to have been 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.

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The police stated that the native doctor confessed to the crime and the previous performance of such rituals, attributing the death of the victim to his non-adherence to certain ritualistic rules he earlier prescribed for him.

The case is under investigation, and the suspects will be arraigned in court once investigations are concluded, according to the police.

In a related development, the Enugu Police Command said one Okoro Chukwuebuka Kingsley “m”, aged 24, and Ogbonna Samuel Chiedozie “m”, aged 18, are in its custody for conspiring and murdering 52-year-old Mrs. Patience Nkem Charles.

The crime, the police noted, was motivated by a grudge Kingsley held from his time as Mrs. Charles’ former security guard in 2021.

It added that the suspects confessed to strangling the victim in her home, leading to their arrest through police intelligence and they have already been arraigned in court and remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Custodial Centre.