Horror as Human skulls, fetish objects found in Anambra Church
By Gabriel Chy Alonta
Chinwe Nwobu, a 40-year-old self-acclaimed prophetess and herbalist has been beaten up and banished from Umubiala village, Agulu Anaocha local government area of Anambra state for allegedly operating a deadly voodoo religious centre and desecrating the community shrine.
Following Nwobu’s dramatic expulsion from the village by enraged youths and masquerades last weekend, her nameless worship centre was turned inside out, revealing odds and ends in the forms of fetish objects, charms, photographs, concoctions, veiled and tucked away inside the centre. These were reportedly damaged and burnt by the youths.
The prophetess, popularly known as Ezenwanyi by her followers, who hails from Enugwu-Ukwu in Njikoka local government area of Anambra state, was arrested by villagers while her live-in lover, Ikechukwu Ngene, from Umu-Owelle, Agulu, is on the run and currently being tracked.
Orient Weekend gathered that Chinwe was, until the incident, famous in the area for providing spiritual solutions to people who thronged her centre over different health and life challenges. Her bubble bust after she allegedly desecrated the community shrine called Ajana.
Engr. Emmanuel Chikeluba, a community elder, told this paper that Nwobu incurred the wrath of the villagers when she, accompanied by her Agulu indigene lover, Ngene, allegedly plotted the takeover of the ancestral land housing the shrine.
Our custom forbids women stepping into the shrine and that was the cause of the whole fracas”, Chikeluba said.
When I arrived the scene, I pleaded with the youths to hand her over to me, just to save her life. We also promised that she would be immediately banished from the community. After pacifying the irate youths, they allowed us to take her.
“We eventually reported her to the Neni police station and, after interrogation, she was released to us because of the coronavirus pandemic”, Orakwelu narrated.
Orakwelu, further disclosed that efforts to arrest the prophetess’ fleeing lover by the local vigilante proved abortive. He said the accomplice, believed to have fled to Enugwu-Ukwu, was being tracked as he had contacted his Enugwu-Ukwu counterpart, Mr. Boniface Nkwuaku, for assistance in arresting him.
Nwobu further disclosed that Ngene, was not her husband but an old flame she reunited with after her breakup with her husband. According to her, following their reunion, Ngene also parted ways with his wife, abandoning his family to be with her.
Meanwhile, the prophetess’ sister, Hope Nwobu, also dispelled the allegation of evil intent in Chinwe’s activities and decried the action of the youths in hitting her and Chinwe with sticks and machetes, the pains from which she was still nursing. She also claimed that she was yet to trace her children since the bizarre incident took place.
Similarly, Mmaduabuchi Aniekwe, from Obeagu Agulu, who said he lived with the suspect for over two years, absolved her of the allegations and recalled how she helped him overcome his (unspecified) problem.
The Anambra state police command’s public relations officer, SP Haruna Mohammed, when contacted, confirmed the incident, stressing that the state commissioner of Police, CP John Abang has ordered for investigation into the matter. “There was an allegation that the woman was operating a fake spiritual home and youths went to burn down the place and chase her away. So, the police have started investigating the matter”, Mohammed said in a telephone chat.
