- Deceased’s family wants son ‘resurrected’ as police wade in
There was pandemonium in Amauda Nzashi community in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State recently following the tragic death of a young boy, Chinedu Nwanchor, who was allegedly flogged to death by a herbalist, Uchenna Iteshi.
Iteshi was accused of clubbing Nwanchor to death while allegedly healing him of the insanity he was suffering from at his herbal home located in the community.
It was gathered that Iteshi applied beating as one of the methods of curing the patient.
Enraged by their son’s death, Nwanchor’s family mobilised mob and attempted lynching the herbalist.
They compelled Iteshi to raise their dead son back to life.
In an interview with an uncle to the deceased, James Nwachukwu, he lamented that his nephew was sent to early grave and insisted the herbalist should stick to their terms of agreement and handover the boy to them alive and healthy.
Nwachukwu said, “The deceased is my brother’s son. Earlier this year in April, 2024, he started behaving abnormally; so, we took him to Iteshi’s herbal home for treatment. Since then, we visited him regularly to check on him. So, in the month of June when we visited, it was agreed that since he was responding to treatment and was almost totally healed, that we will take him home during our next visit.
“Some people living close to the healing home testified that they saw Nwanchor same day he died on Saturday, July 27, 2024 at Urban Primary School field at Echara playing football and later returned to the herbal home after the exercise.
“Unfortunately, the next morning, the herbalist’s wife alerted us that she doesn’t understand our son’s state of health. By the time we rushed there, we saw Chinedu already dead with clubbing scars all over his body, which showed that the herbalist clubbed him to death.”
Insisting that the herbalist should resurrect Nwanchor, Nwachukwu posited, “I want him (Iteshi) to bring back my brother’s son to life. Chinedu was full of life to the extent of going to play football only for the herbalist to beat him to death over the night.”
But for the quick intervention of the police, Iteshi would have been lynched by the angry mob.
After investigation, the police dragged Iteshi before Magistrate Ojemba Oko-Isu sitting in Abakaliki judicial division and accused him of causing Nwanchor’s death.
The charge read, “That you Uche Iteshi, aged 27 years on 27th July 2024 at Amuda Ngashi Ikwo under the jurisdiction of this Honourable court did cause the death of one Chinedu Nwanchor by flogging him all over his body and committed an offence punishable under section 319(1) of the criminal code cap 33 volume 1, Laws of Ebonyi State, 2009.”
Iteshi pleaded not guilty to the allegation and his lawyer, Intelligent Ekwe, applied for his bail with a claim that he was a well-known healer in the community and would not jump bail.
Opposing the bail application, the prosecutor, Chinagorom claimed the herbalist would run away if released on bail.
The magistrate ordered the remand of the defendant in Abakaliki Correctional facility and adjourned the matter till September 12, 2024.
