Tempers have flared up in a riverine community, Ofukpo-Ekperi, in Estako Central LGA of Edo State following a viral video of a man brutalising a woman in her 90s, Adishetu Atairu, and an elderly man, said to be the imam of the community, Musa Shaibu, and six others.
The video footage on WhatsApp and Facebook shows a crowd at night led by a man simply identified as Pastor Sharp-Sharp.
In one of the clips, the elderly woman with a walking stick was dragged to the middle of the crowd while a young man was yelling at her to sit down.
When she sat down on a chair, Pastor Sharp-Sharp was heard saying she should sit on the floor, even as another young man then kicked her legs, forcing her to fall to the ground.
In another clip, a man identified as the chief imam of the community is seen sitting on the bare ground while a young man removed his cap.
In another clip, a woman wearing a hijab was brought forward, and Pastor Sharp-Sharp was heard saying, ‘You killed Eshe and killed the wife’, and the woman said that she had something to say, but Pastor Sharp-Sharp cut her short, saying, “Not now, take her away”.
In another clip, another woman wearing a small hijab was also brought in and the pastor accused her that they were the two and then asked her to leave.
The crowd in the video was heard commending the pastor after humiliating his victims during the unfortunate incident.
A resident of the community, Abu Buhari, told the Daily Trust in an interview that on July 5, his stepmother, Adishetu Atairu, and others were dehumanised and assaulted by Pastor Sharp-Sharp and his accomplices.
He said, like his stepmom, the community chief imam and other residents were also abducted by Pastor Sharp-Sharp in the middle of the night, using gun-wielding thugs. The victims were physically assaulted and made to confess to crimes they knew nothing about.
“On the faithful day, residents of my community went to bed as usual, only to be woken up by strange, gun-wielding men. The victims were dragged before a waiting crowd and accused of witchcraft. My stepmother was brutalised, humiliated and traumatised,” he said.
“The information I got was that the community youths who are vigilantes initiated a move to offer prayer for the community to progress. But the community members were not in support because of the gangsterism they employed in achieving it.
“They went ahead to contact one Pastor Sharp-Sharp whom, I learned, charged them fees. The youths said the pastor had been performing miracles in some areas. So against the wish of the community, they went and brought the so-called pastor and started unleashing terror on the people.
“The pastor organised a crusade in the midnight and perpetrated terror on those they claimed were witches and wizards.
“According to the information that was available to me, the youths wrote the names of the people they claimed were witches and wizards and handed them to the pastor, who in turn started calling their names out during his crusade.
“When the pastor called names of the people, the youths would go to the person’s house in the dead of night and forcefully bring them to the venue of the event and then proceed to assault and dehumanise them.
“Like in the case of my stepmother, they stormed our house, abducted her despite the injury she sustained on her leg and brought her to the pastor. They gave her a chair but the pastor commanded that she must sit on the floor, which she refused to do, saying she committed no offence.
“In order to force her to obey their so-called overseer, one of his boys tackled her and she fell down. That same treatment was meted on our chief imam and about seven other persons in the village.
“Because of beating and dehumanisation, some people ran away that night. And because of fear of the same treatment meted out to the victims, others started saying all sort of things they know nothing about.”
According to Buhari, after the dehumanisation, the pastor forced them to pay sundry amounts ranging from N10, 000 and above for chaplain and some miracle medicines.
He said they reported the incident to the police, who asked them to submit a petition on the incident, detailing what happened.
He said after the petition was submitted, the pastor was arrested by the Police Area Command Office in Agenebode, Etsako East LGA on Wednesday, July 17.
“Ofukpo is a riverine community and in the rainy season, the people are cut off from the Ekperi community due to lack of access road,” he also said.
He called on the police and other relevant government agencies to intervene and bring the perpetrators to justice to avert communal and religious crises in the state.
Buhari said his stepmom and other victims are still in pain as a result of the beating and dehumanisation they suffered.
The spokesman of the Edo State Police Command, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, who confirmed the incident, said, “Yes, the incident is confirmed, the police are aware of it.
“The pastor and one other person have been arrested and they are in police custody. The suspects have been charged to court.”
Reacting to the incident, the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria’s Amir (president) in Edo State, condemned the attack and called on the state government and security agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Also reacting, Afemai Islamic Movement’s (AIM) Amir, Sheikh Ismaeel Danesi, called for justice for the people of Ofikpo community.
“Our people are peaceful. No one has the right to assault anyone, let alone old people who are innocent. Our culture forbids it, just as our religion is against it.”
On its part, the Edo Muslims for Equity and Good Governance, (EMEGG) commended the Nigeria Police and other security operatives for wading into the matter before it escalated.
The group’s coordinator, Sirajudeen Muhammad, assured Muslims in the state that justice for those humiliated will not be compromised.
He said religion is to save and not to harm, adding that the group will follow the case to its logical conclusion.
“The pastor and two others have been charged to court, we were at the court today and we will always be present at the court. The case has been adjourned to August 7, for hearing.”
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