A 20-year-old lady in Osun State, whose name has been withheld in order to save her from stigma, has recounted how a self-acclaimed Islamic cleric, identified as Alfa Jamiu, allegedly raped her in the guise of delivering her from spirit husband.
THE POINT gathered that some cultures in Nigeria hold the belief that many people, single and married, are victims of spirit husband or spirit wife.
Some spiritualists have explained a spirit husband/wife as a spirit that comes in human form to have intercourse with a man or woman in his or her dream.
They revealed that the activity is sometimes so intense that the one who is having the dream feels as if it is real.
According to them, a victim of such an evil spirit will find it difficult to either get pregnant or impregnate his wife or even get into a relationship that could lead to marriage.
They regard this spirit as being evil and that it is not of God. In the case of singles, they held that the victim will find it difficult to get married.
So, this 20-year-old lady, who assists her mother in selling food at Orita Owode-Ede in Owode-Ede community, Osun State, explained that Alfa Jamiu, who also engages in welding job in the area, accosted and informed her that it was revealed to him that she was being tormented by a spirit husband.
The Alfa assured her that he would carry out some rites, prayers and cleansing that would disengage her from the spirit husband.
After so much pestering, the lady said she honoured Alfa’s invitation to her shop where he asked her to remove her waist beads, made some incantations and returned them to her before forcefully having carnal knowledge of her.
According to the victim, the incident occurred on a Sunday while she was doing her regular chores at her mother’s food joint.
Narrating her ordeal, the victim said she has never had any encounter with the self-acclaimed cleric, also known as King Welder, until the fateful day.
She said Jamiu told her that she has a “spirit husband” and asked if she would be willing to drink a concoction to be delivered from it. She ignored him and went back to her mother’s shop.
“But it did not end there. The next day, on a Monday morning, he walked past my mother’s shop and told me to come to his shop. I was confused and afraid, but I went. When I arrived, he asked about my relationship life. I told him about my ex-boyfriend. He told me to write my name, my ex’s name, and my phone number on a piece of paper. I complied. Then, things became even stranger when he instructed me to lift my clothes and held the paper near my private part while chanting incantations. He then asked me to remove all the six waist beads I was wearing. He took them and later that night, he returned them to me.
“When I returned to collect my beads, he brought out a chair and began speaking inappropriately, asking if we could be together. I tried to leave, but as he touched my lap, I felt spiritually paralyzed. From that moment, I did not know what I was doing anymore,” she said.
She said what followed were a series of spiritual manipulation, strange chants, and forcing her to take alcohol.
“He made me pray over the beads and bathe before wearing them again. That night, he raped me. My body stopped responding and my mind went blank,” she added.
The victim continued, “Alfa Jamiu threatened me not to tell anyone or I would die. He dropped me near my house and gave me N500. I did not feel alive when I got home. I went out looking for poison — Indocid — but couldn’t find any.
“For days, I stayed silent. He called again, pretending to continue helping me. I was still confused and shivering, so I went. He repeated the rituals, gave me alcohol, and forced me to recite incantations. It was when I returned to my shop that my senses were clear. I started crying. I realized I had been manipulated, raped, and fooled.
“Eventually, I told a family member, then my mother. My father reported the incident to the police that night, and a formal complaint was lodged at the police station. The matter is now in court, and I am demanding justice. I want the judgment that a rapist deserves under the law to be given to him. He did not just take my body, he took my mind too.”
It was learned that the suspect was dragged before a Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ede and was slammed with a count of rape.
The suspect was said to have been remanded at the Correctional Centre in the state.