By Vincent Ujumadu
AWKA — An Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka has sentenced a native doctor, Ekene Igboekweze, popularly known as “Eke Hit,” to 12 years’ imprisonment for offences arising from alleged kidnapping, protective charms and money rituals.
Justice Jude Obiora sentenced Igboekweze to six years’ imprisonment on each of two counts, with the sentences to run concurrently, without an option of fine. The court also ordered that the period he had already spent in detention be counted as part of the sentence.
Igboekweze and two other suspects were arraigned on April 4, 2025, on charges bordering on conspiracy, kidnapping, protective charms and money rituals.
In his defence, Igboekweze told the court that he was a registered herbalist and a member of the Odinani Okija Traditional Association, adding that his practice involved the use of herbs and roots.
He said the viral videos that made him popular were old and had been recorded before the enactment of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law, 2025.
Delivering judgment, Justice Obiora held that the prosecution had proved counts one and two beyond reasonable doubt, while he resolved count three in favour of the defendant.
Before the sentence was pronounced, Igboekweze pleaded for forgiveness, saying he had learnt his lessons and urging the court to consider his family.
He particularly appealed for consideration of his newborn triplets, whom he said he had not seen since their birth.
His wife, Elizabeth, and half-brother also pleaded for leniency, describing him as well-behaved and kind.
They told the court that Igboekweze was his mother’s only son in a polygamous family and had maintained good character.
Igboekweze, who hails from Umuofor Village, Okija, in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, was arrested in February 2025 by operatives of the state-sponsored Agunechemba security outfit alongside two other native doctors.
The arrests followed the signing of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law, 2025, by Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
The law prohibits native doctors from claiming that they can make people wealthy through “Oke Ite” and other rituals. It also prohibits the preparation of charms for criminals by native doctors.
Another native doctor, Chidozie Nwangwu, who was earlier sentenced to 11 months’ imprisonment, was on Friday granted pardon by Governor Soludo and appointed youth ambassador for the state.
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