‘Bird woman’ sons surface, deny mum’s witchcraft accusation

Two men – children of the unidentified elderly woman who was almost lynched by a mob in the Ajegunle area of Lagos after being accused of witchcraft – have identified the victim as their mother.

They said the octogenarian was not a witch, but a victim of the nature and had been missing from home.

It was reported on Wednesday that the elderly woman was attacked by a mob which accused her of being a black bird that transformed into a human being.

It was alleged that while being beaten, the woman confessed that she was a witch and had flown to Ibadan, Oyo State for a meeting but got tired on returning from Lagos and fell from the sky.

The woman was subsequently rescued by the police and taken to the Area B Command.

However, sources at the command said that two sons of the victim came to the command on Thursday after seeing their mother’s picture in the newspapers.

The source said the two men explained that their mother had wandered off some days ago and they had been looking for her.

The men, who said they lived in the Iju Ishaga area of the state were said to have been puzzled as to how their mother walked all the way to Ajegunle.

A policeman at the command said, “This morning (Thursday), two men came to the command claiming that they were the sons of the woman. The men said their mother was not a witch and were very angry with the manner the rumour was spreading.

“They said they were shocked that youths could attack an old woman in her 80s and they were even asking for justice because the woman sustained bruises on her head.”

Another police source at the command said that the Area commander, ACP Ndubueze Anene, had transferred the woman to the command headquarters in Ikeja for further investigation.

He said the sons had also gone to the headquarters to provide evidence that the woman was indeed their mother.

Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said that the woman was not a witch and warned residents of the state against jungle justice.

When asked if the woman had been released, Braide said, “Yes she has been released to her son. The family said due to her old age, she was very ill and was brought from Ibadan to Lagos to stay with one of her sons.

“The woman’s daughter-in-law said she went to buy drugs for her nearby, but by the time she returned home, the woman had left the house.”