Man kills 80-year-old uncle over alleged witchcraft

A man, Haruna Ezekiel, has been arrested in Bauchi State for allegedly killing his 80-year-old uncle, Sunday Saleh and burying him in a shallow grave over allegations of witchcraft.

The police accused Ezekiel, 35, of killing the 80-year-old in Gongo village of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area over allegations of initiating his son into witchcraft.

Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ahmed Wakil, said the Tafawa Balewa Divisional Police headquarters received a complaint about the incident on December 6 when a villager, aged 44, reported flames coming out from the deceased’s house.

He explained that the villager found Ezekiel in that house and discovered that he killed and burnt him inside the house and later, dug a shallow grave and buried the body behind the burnt house.

• Burna Boy, Rema spend millions on latest assets
• Morocco seeking to become Africa’s first semi-finalists

Wakil explained that the suspect was told by his son that the victim gave him a piece of meat to eat some days ago, and met him later to say the meat was an initiation into witchcraft and that requires his father (the suspect) must be sacrificed in the process.

“On hearing this, the suspect was furious and confronted the victim about the matter, as the victim has long been suspected to be notorious for witchcraft,” Wakil said.