Reported By: Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
An Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka has sentenced a popular native doctor, Ekene Igboekweze, popularly known as “Eke Hit,” to twelve years’ imprisonment for offences arising from alleged kidnapping, the preparation of protective charms for criminals, and money rituals.
Justice Jude Obiora, who delivered the judgment on Friday, sentenced Igboekweze to six years’ imprisonment on count one and another six years on count two. The sentences are to run concurrently, without an option of fine, and the court ordered that the period he had already spent in detention be counted as part of the sentence. The judge held that the prosecution had proved counts one and two beyond reasonable doubt, while count three was resolved in favour of the defendant.
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. 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.
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.
Speaking to journalists after the proceedings, counsel to Igboekweze, Chief Emmanuel Egbunonu, said the court had shown consideration by waiving the forty million naira fine attached to the two charges. Also speaking, Barrister Fabian Okeke of the Anambra State Ministry of Justice said the judgment was aimed at protecting society from practices he described as dangerous trends capable of undermining creativity and encouraging people to abandon meaningful economic ventures.
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, and from preparing charms for criminals.
The conviction is part of a broader crackdown on native doctors in Anambra State that has generated significant controversy. The Anambra State Government has framed the Homeland Security Law as a sanitation exercise rather than an attack on traditional religion, with officials arguing that the law targets fake and evil native doctors and false prophets who deceive the gullible populace. However, the crackdown has sparked outcry from traditional medicine practitioners, who have staged protests against what they describe as selective justice and a witch-hunt by the Soludo administration.
Another native doctor, Chidozie Nwangwu, popularly known as Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki, was sentenced to two years imprisonment in February 2026 for involvement in the promotion of money rituals. He was fined sixty million naira, and the court ordered the demolition of his shrine in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area. As part of the court’s directives, Nwangwu was ordered to renounce Oke-ite and related charm practices, make public statements against such practices, and serve as an ambassador for youth reorientation upon completion of his sentence. He was granted pardon by Governor Soludo on Friday and appointed Ambassador for Youth Reformation, a move that the state described as correction and restoration rather than mere punishment.
The sentencing of Igboekweze comes amid heightened political activity in Anambra State ahead of the 2027 general elections. Governor Soludo has endorsed President Bola Tinubu for a second term and declared that his party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, will not field a presidential candidate. The crackdown on native doctors has become a contentious issue in the state, with critics arguing that it targets traditional religious practices while supporters insist it is necessary to combat criminality linked to fraudulent spiritual practices.
For Igboekweze, the judgment brings to an end a legal process that began with his arrest in February 2025. His defence that the viral videos predated the Homeland Security Law was rejected by the court, which found that the prosecution had established its case on the two counts. The waiver of the forty million naira fine means that Igboekweze will serve his sentence without the additional financial penalty, a consideration his counsel described as leniency. As he begins his twelve-year term, the case stands as a warning to other practitioners in a state that has made the regulation of traditional medicine a central element of its security and governance agenda. Whether the conviction will deter the practices it targets or deepen the controversy surrounding the crackdown remains to be seen, but for now, the court has spoken, and Eke Hit is headed to prison.
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