The Enugu State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of an herbalist, Enuwa Oduguand and a father of 26-year-old man, Chikwado Eze, who died after being buried alive in Enugu.
According to a report by The Punch, the tragic incident reportedly happened at Ugbaike, Enugu Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State last week.
The newspaper reported that Mr Eze had secured a visa to travel abroad and returned to his village to share the news with his father.
But his father insisted on a fortification ritual to ensure his success overseas and took him to a native doctor, Onuwa.
The native doctor allegedly claimed that Mr Eze needed to be buried alive for 1 hour and 30 minutes to be properly fortified.
Unfortunately, when the younger Eze was exhumed after the stipulated time, he was found dead.
Confirming the incident in a statement issued on Tuesday, the command Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, said the father of the deceased and the native doctor had been arrested.
According to the statement, “a native doctor, one Enuwa Odugu “m”, aged 48, and Uwakwe Eze “m”, aged 67, were arrested for conspiracy and murder of Eze’s 26-year-old son, one Chikwado Celestine Eze.
“The incident is alleged to have occurred when Uwakwe Eze took his son to the native doctor’s shrine for a ritual intended to fortify him with charms.
“However, during the ritual, the deceased was 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.”
He said that the native doctor had confessed to the crime and other previous performances 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,” Mr Ndukwe added.
