Saturday, 15 February 2014

‘The blood was like a fountain’: Woman narrates experience in ritualists’ den

     Ozioma rituals
A young woman in Lagos who was kidnapped and taken to a ritualist’s den has narrated her ordeal.
Ozioma Eberechukwu, a student at the Abia State University, was reportedly abducted at her uncle’s shop in the popular Alaba market area of the state.
She later found herself in what can only be described as a house of horrors with people being butchered right before her very eyes.


The Sun reports:
This is her story, as she told it herself:
Sometimes I go to my uncle’s shop at Alaba International market to help out when I’m chanced. On Wednesday, October 23, 2013 I went to the shop as usual. I was pressed so I went to the toilet to ease myself. As I was returning to the shop, two men came behind me. They brought out a white handkerchief and placed it on my nose and I lost my senses. I did not know what happened after that or where they took me to.
Later, I found myself in one big house. In that massive compound, I saw five people there including a pregnant woman. She appeared weak and looked forlorn. There were two very tall, huge men there too. They looked like bouncers. They came and quickly undressed us. Then they rubbed some oily substances on us that made our body shine. It was smelling like Olive oil. Then they began to beat us mercilessly as if we had stolen.
They forced us to eat rice, beans and fried plantain. They gave us something to drink, I know it was liquid but I can’t say exactly what type of soft drink except for the colour. It was pinkish. Then, they asked us to line-up. Before then they asked for our names. 
There was a tall mirror by his side. As they call your name, you match forward. They will remove the scarf over your eyes for you to see the butcher as he was killing people. Within few seconds he will cut off some-body’s head and blood will gush out from the head like a fountain; the blood will rush up and then down on the dead body before reaching the flood.
But instead of allowing the blood to waste, one of them brought a bowl to collect it as it oozes from the severed neck. One of the men then tilted the victim’s neck towards the container to ensure that not even a drop of blood was wasted. In that building is a deep well where they throw corpses. As we watched, the butchers killed two people, a boy and a girl. Then the third was a pregnant woman, while the fourth and fifth were men.
I was nuber six and the second girl. When it was my turn. They called my name and I stepped out naked. Immediately, I developed goose pimples and I said ‘God, is this how I will end up?’ I was really scared. In fact, I was more dead than alive. In short, I came face to face with death. Suddenly one of the butchers shouted: “Who brought this girl here?” He was very angry. Then he said: “Come and take her away to the place you brought her from before she spoils things here.” Immediately one of them came to me and said, “Ozioma, come.” He brought my clothes, my pant and brassiere, and dressed me up because I was too weak.
He just led me out of the place into the darkness. All this time I could not speak, but I heard everything they were saying; I also saw what they were doing. That was how one of them took me out of their den and dumped me along the road. I didn’t know where I was, whether it was Lagos or elsewhere. I tired, I just lay by the side of the road.
When I saw motorists I managed to wave, but they didn’t bother to answer until when one kind man came. The man saw how I was waving and came to me. I could not talk so he gave a pen and I wrote my parents’ address at Isashi near Okokomaiko. When he read the note he told me I was at Iyana Ipaja, Alimosho Local Government Area.
He took me to the motor park and paid the conductor and told him to drop me at Iyana School, where I came down. When I got to Iyana School, another man also came to my help like the first person. He also paid my fare to my home. I could not enter our house. It was while I was crawling towards our house that my mum and siblings saw me.
I was still seeing the ritualists in my subconscious. They wore red and black clothes. I saw a snake and a baby. Then my mum came out. I think at this time, I started to wave goodbye to her. I was hearing the ritualists calling me to come. So I started crying that I want to go, I want to go; that I want to die. Then my family began to pray. I could hear them, but I was too weak to say or do anything reasonable.
My mum told me later that that was when she phoned Prophet Lenke (of Liberation Embassy, Agboju) to come. According to her, this was around 11 pm, 24 hours after I disappeared from Alaba International Market.


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