Salisu Lawan, 22, was detained by the Gombe State Police Command after Usman Bello, the man’s father, was allegedly killed in the state’s Akko Local Government Area with a pestle
On August 9, 2023, ASP Mahid Mu’azu Abubakar, the command’s spokesperson, revealed this in a statement as Lawan was paraded alongside other suspects detained for a variety of crimes in the state.
The PPRO claims that Lawan hit his 65-year-old father on the head with a pestle while making a witchcraft accusation.
The spokesperson expressed concern over the number of murder cases that have been reported and associated with witchcraft, in which the victims claimed to have seen other people in their dreams and come to the conclusion that they were to blame for their predicament, which ultimately led to the killing of the alleged witches.
The PRO claimed that there was another case connected to witchcraft involving an elderly man who asked a young man to help him cross a stream but was similarly attacked by the young man with a plank and had his body dumped in a river.
Because the issue of witchcraft is not covered by the law, ASP Abubakar stated that CP Etim and the Police disapprove of such acts and instructed the general public to refrain from engaging in them.
“You cannot bring someone, take him to herbalists, and force him to admit that he is a wizard through what we call trial by ordeal. That is an experimental trial that the law does not cover. Whenever someone comes clean and says, “Yes, I am this,” on their own. He is subject to the law, and we are aware of how to deal with him, said ASP Abubakar.
He urged religious and traditional leaders to preach against the practice because it was a serious offense that could land the offender or any party involved in the case in court.
The suspect begged for forgiveness while speaking with reporters during his parade and said he had no idea when he struck his father with the pestle.
Because he had slept from 7 am that fateful day until 7:30 pm, the suspect claimed he learned of his murder the next morning.
Lawan claimed that he was informed that the deceased kept calling his name while he slept because he was the one who was to blame for giving him the illness, but that he was unaware of the exact moment when he attacked him.
