COURT REMANDS 5 SUSPECTS INVOLVED IN DEHUMANIZING A WIDOW FOR ALLEGEDLY PICKING SNAILS FROM A “SACRED FOREST” IN ENUGU

On the 11th of November 2022, 5 suspects accused of dehumanising a widow for picking snail from a “sacred forest” in Agunese Affam-Mmaku Autonomous Community in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State was arraigned before a Magistrate Court sitting in Enugu.

As part of our commitment to providing support for the victim and ensure that justice is seen to be done, WomenAid Collective (WACOL)/Tamar SARC team of lawyers and counsellors were present in court.

The prosecutor brought a 5 count charge against the suspects.
The charge bothered on conspiracy to commit felony with intent to cause grievous harm on the victims(names withheld). Also videoing the victims and disseminating on social media, an offense punishable by the Cyber Crime (Prohibition Prevention Etc) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2015.

The 5 persons arraigned include:
1.Jonathan Nwangene, male 43years
2.Maduabuchi Madueke, male 34 years
3.Obioma Nwangene, male,39 years
4.Anikene Samuel, male, 24 years
5.Chukwuebuka Agu, male, 32 years

One of the suspects arrested initially, Mr. Stan Okoro was granted bail at the police station and released before arraignment. In a surprising twist of event, Mr. Okoro was listed as one of the witnesses in the case.

Also present in court were the two victims who got stabbed for coming to rescue the widow.

Sadly, the widow was absent as she was still receiving treatment in a medical facility.

The Magistrate remanded all the suspects and adjourned the case till February 24th 2023 for the Attorney General’s Advice.
WACOL is committed to ensuring that the victim widow gets justice for wanton violation of her fundamental human rights. We want to see that this case is diligently prosecuted to serve as a deterrence for such impunity.