A high court in Awka, Anambra State, on Friday adjourned the arraignment of a popular native doctor due to ill health.
The native doctor, Johnpaul Ezenagu, popularly known as “Muo Mmili Afuluanya”, was arrested on 12 March in Nnewi, a community in Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state.
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Mr Ezenagu was arrested by the operatives of the Agunechemba over alleged ritual practices.
Agunechemba is a vigilante group created by law in Anambra State.
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Stalled arraignment
When Mr Ezenagu was brought into the courtroom on Friday, he was not walking properly. His lawyer, Kingsley Awuka, told the court that the defendant was sick.
But the prosecution team, led by the Anambra State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Tobechukwu Nweke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, suggested that the defendant might be feigning illness to frustrate his arraignment.
The Judge, Jude Obiora, ruled that the defendant was unfit to take his pleas and consequently adjourned the arraignment until 3 June.
Mr Obiora also ordered that the defendant be moved to a hospital for medical treatment.
The defence counsel, Mr Awuka, told PREMIUM TIMES after the court session on Friday that he knew Mr Ezenagu was ill but was unaware that it was serious enough to prevent him from standing properly.
He expressed hope that the defendant would have recovered before the adjourned date for proper arraignment.
Mr Ezenagu’s stalled arraignment came barely two months after the court sentenced another native doctor in the state, Chukwudozie Nwangwu, to 12 years’ imprisonment for similar offences.
Charges against the defendant
According to a charge sheet obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Ezenagu faces a five-count charge.
The charges were the propagation of the accumulation of wealth by supernatural means, the throwing and pouring of items of sacrifice into water, and misleading the public about possession of supernatural powers.
Others were obtaining rewards from the public by claiming to possess supernatural powers and representing themselves as witches, with powers of witchcraft.
The prosecution told the court that the offences in the counts one to four were contrary to Sections 18 and 19 of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025.
It added that the offence in count five violated Section 192 (a) of the Criminal Code, CAP 36, Revised Laws of Anambra State 1991.
Background
Recall that in January 2025, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State signed the Anambra State Homeland Security Bill 2025 into law.
The law, aside from creating the Agunechemba vigilante group, also banned the manufacture of charms for the commission of crime and the performance of sacrifices along roads in the state.
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It targeted native doctors who prepare charms for criminals terrorising residents of the South-eastern state.
The legislation equally outlawed the practice of Oke-Ite and Ezenwanyi for the purpose of wealth accumulation through supernatural means.
It imposes a sentence of six years’ imprisonment, N20 million, or both on defaulters upon conviction.
The legislation seeks to check insecurity in the state.
