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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol.7, No.12

Publication Date: December 25, 2020

DOI:10.14738/assrj.712.9442.

Nwatu, U. L., Ebue, M. O., Iwuagwu, A. O., Ene, J. C., & Odo, C. O. (2020). Perception Of Witchcraft Practice In Oredo Local Government

Area Of Edo State, Nigeria. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 7(12) 514-527.

Perception Of Witchcraft Practice In Oredo Local Government Area

Of Edo State, Nigeria

Nwatu, Uche Louisa

Department of Social Work, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Ebue, Malachy Okechukwu

Department of Social Work, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Iwuagwu, Anthony Obinna

Department of Social Work, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Ene, Jacinta Chibuzor

Department of Social Work, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Odo, Casmir Obinna

Department of Social Work, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

ABSTRACT

Africa has long standing history of complex phenomenal as they relate

to belief system, especially in the existence and powers of witches which

pervades every segment of the society. This study is designed to

ascertain the perception of witchcraft practice in Oredo Local

Government Area of Edo state, Nigeria. The study used a cluster/multi

stage random sample of 30 residents of Oredo Local Government Area

whom were interviewed using FGDs and in-depth interviews to elicit

information on the perception and practice of witchcraft in Edo state,

Nigeria. Data generated were content analyzed and the result shows that

majority of the respondent were of the opinion that witchcraft is widely

practiced in Edo state and it has negative implications to victims. They

emphasized its human right implications, noting that it could result in

total violation of rights. Results further show that witchcraft accusation

is gender biased as women (elderly) are mostly the victims of witchcraft

accusation against their male counterparts, thereby raising concerns on

gender based discrimination as well as human right violation

respectively. It becomes highly imperative that social workers and other

human rights professionals should raise awareness on the existence of

these problems and carryout necessary advocacy, influencing the

government to enact and enforce stronger laws and strategies to

address all aspects of this issue.

Keywords: Witchcraft, Perception, Edo state, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION

Witchcraft is defined as the activities of witches and wizards carried out by “the use of magical

powers, especially evil ones1. In the same vein, a witch according to the Witchcraft and Human

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol.7, Issue 12, December-2020

be female or male in gender, but women were more common. It is believed in Edo that a witch

possessed a great life force called orhion (power of transformation) is a witch’s life force that took

on the form of a bird or animal and they are able to travel undetected by transforming their life force

into an animal form. A witch usually transformed at nighttime to accomplish a malevolent deed and

some of the animals that a witch could transform herself into were owls, cats and dogs 3. The leader

of the witches was called Obason and a host of other widely held views about witchcraft practice

among the people of Edo State.

Witchcraft from the foregoing is rooted in primitive society. Fear and ignorance played powerful

roles in its growth and development. It is difficult to calculate the total number of witches, as they

typically practice alone or in small, autonomous groups, and there is no central organization7. The

American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) estimates that there are 307,000 Wiccan, Druid,

and Pagan adults in the United States10. Some demographic information on Witches has been

collected by anthropologists and sociologists, who have paid considerable attention to this

subculture. Sorcery and witchcraft are today one of the most pressing and significant threats to

physical and spiritual security2. From what have been written so far and the available literature on

witchcraft, it could be deduced that Nigerians actually believed in the existence of witchcraft14.

Social workers has become increasingly aware of the importance of Christianity and religion in the

lives of their clients5,27 Although some literature examines the role of spirituality in social work, there

is almost no professional literature on the concept of witchcraft practice within the field of social

work practice in Nigeria and Social workers has paid little or no attention on the role of spirituality

and religion in their practice especially in respect to sorcery and witchcraft practice in Nigeria.

Also, the topic under review also has human right implication, in the light of this, the revised

definition of social work, states at its concluding part that “the principles of human rights and social

justice are fundamental to social work”13. However, social work can be considered “a human rights

profession”. People accused of witchcraft suffer a wide range of human right violations, these

violations have been described by Igwe as a weapon of power and a mechanism for the oppression

of the victims especially females who are in weak socio cultural positions in patriarchal societies12.

People accused of witchcraft suffer significant and wide ranging violations of their human rights.

violation of rights which range from the right to be free from violence, abuse and neglect, the right

to life, the right to be free from torture, the right to non-discrimination, the right to respect the views

of the people accused of witchcraft, the rights to food and shelter to the right to protection9. Other

infringements on their fundamental human rights include abuses, abandonment, and neglect,

beatings, banishment into the evil forest or on the streets and murder12, thereby resulting to a lot of

physical and psychological damages. It is however evident that the issues associated with witchcraft

practice has serious human right implications, meanwhile the study of the perception of witchcraft

practice in Edo state has scanty literature in that regard and it has not been properly addressed by

social workers. Thus, this study will fill such academic gap by examining the perception and practice

of witchcraft in Edo State, Nigeria and its implication for social work practice. This paper therefore

sought to address the following specific objectives; (1) to explore the perception of witchcraft

practice in Edo state, Nigeria (2) to find out the effect of witchcraft practice in Edo State (3) to

explore suggestions on the problem (4) to discuss the implications of findings.