By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
Native doctor, Chidozie Nwangwu, well-known as Akwa Okuko tiwara aki, was today sentenced to 11 months in prison and has been moved to Amawbia Correctional Centre, where he has been taken as an inmate. As this new journey begins for Chidozie, a young man in his mid to late 20s, the Government of Anambra State has made a bold statement with this outcome. First arrested about a year ago, he has remained in detention, in a government facility, since then till he was sentenced today, by Justice Jude Obiorah, of the Anambra State High Court.
In February 2025, Chidozie was arrested by operatives of Agunechemba over violations of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law, 2025. The law, which was explicit regarding the practice of okite and other forms of charms deemed an abuse of public order and sanity, prescribed a minimum of six years imprisonment upon conviction or a fine of N20 million or both. To be precise, Section 18 (1) of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025, provides that “Any person who under the practice of okite or ezenwanyi or any other guise, administers any substance or charm on or for any other person for the commission of any offence or for accumulation of wealth by supernatural means other than by any known lawful means of livelihood or who publicly propagates the accumulation of such wealth other than by any known lawful means of livelihood, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of 6 years with an option of fine of N20 million or both.”
Several facts linked insecurity, criminal agitation, and quick money syndrome to okite and ezenwanyi practice, which at one point became an epidemic. This was such that people turned rented properties in Awka, Anambra capital, into a shrine without the knowledge of the property owners. Insecurity was high, and agitation thrived, creating an impression of lawlessness and weak government that pointed to a more troubled future.
For instance, there is no criminal camp cleared by security agents in Anambra that has no charm or shrine. In some, those shrines were fortified by human sacrifices. In other words, these shrines and native doctors were the blocks with which the new order of violence and disorder was built. Water bodies and tributaries were rapidly polluted by ezenwanyi practitioners offering all manner of sacrifices for quick money. This was a real problem and the background upon which the Homeland Security Law 2025 was promulgated.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Obiorah observed that the convict had shown reasonable remorse; therefore, even the fine he was to pay was forgiven by the Court. “Under the law…any person in the state who practices okite or ezenwayi is liable to six years in prison…The total fine sums up to N60 million, but because of the remorse shown by the accused, the fine is now waived as such money in such circumstances is not needed by the state.” In the end, Chidozie was sentenced to 11 months. “He will serve the 11 months of his sentence in Amawbia Correctional Centre, as against the plea by his counsel for him to serve in Agunechemba facility. This is because the Agunechemba facility is not a correctional centre,” the Judge ruled.
Importantly, the Court also ordered that, “The shrine of the defendant in Oba shall be destroyed. He shall, from the date of release, no longer practice okite and must make a public statement denouncing it. He will be made ambassador of youth reorientation and must make a public statement cautioning youths against seeking wealth through supernatural means,” the Court proclaimed.
During an interview after Chidozie was sentenced, his lawyer, Sylvester Igwuoba, revealed that the sentence of his client was based on a plea bargain arrangement and ruled out any appeal. “We agreed to it. The Government kept to its own side. We consented. It is a consent judgment, and there is no need to go to appeal,” Mr. Sylvester said. A few hours after the judgment, operatives of the Anambra State Government took over and destroyed Chidozie’s shrine in Oba, Idemili South LGA, Anambra State.
Since his arrest last February, there were arguments that Chidozie’s right to freedom of religion was being violated as provided by Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, it is doubtful that such freedom was provided to be used without recourse to social order. Most certainly, a freedom that is misused to provide support to crime and criminality is surely not the intention of the Nigerian Constitution. Faced with a real challenge of addressing an emerging social disorder and chaos manifesting as insecurity and criminal agitation, the government thought of how best to attack the problem at the root. This was how the Homeland Law was birthed. The law addressed a real challenge that is threatening to destroy Anambra’s prospects as a modern society with a functional government where decency and order prevail.
Chidozie, in his prime as an okite native doctor, was becoming the hallmark of many young people’s aspirations and thereby setting a dangerous precedent in acceptable public conduct. By his arrest, the government went for the arrowhead of an emerging dangerous disorder, and by his sentencing, the government has set an example of what will become of anyone who opts to take his freedom of worship to extremes that violate public order and decency. Anambra has made a clear and convincing statement that it will not accept criminal disruption of public order under the guise of freedom guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.
