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A 23-year-old man, identified as Chiemelie Nnaji, has tragically died after drowning in a river during an exorcism ritual in Enugu State.
According to The Nation, Chiemelie was well known in the Obiagu area for roasting pork and chicken in front of a local motel. However, residents of the community were also aware that he suffered from epilepsy.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of Thursday, June 5, when Chiemelie’s mother, popularly known as Ezenwanyi, took him and a female client to Mmiri Ani River in Obiagu for a spiritual cleansing. Sources say Ezenwanyi, a spiritualist, was preparing to pass her practice down to her son.
During the ritual, which involved the use of a native fowl, Chiemelie reportedly suffered an epileptic seizure and fell into the river, which was chest-deep. Despite being alerted by her client, Ezenwanyi—described as being “in a trance”—continued chanting incantations and refused to assist her drowning son.
It was the client who eventually forced the ritual to stop and raised an alarm. Locals responded and were able to pull Chiemelie from the water. He was still alive at the time but later died after being rejected by two hospitals. He was pronounced dead at a third medical facility.
“When we got to the river, we met Ezenwanyi chanting incantations while the other woman was crying helplessly. But we managed to bring him out and took him to the hospital. The two hospitals we took him to rejected him. It was at the third hospital that he was pronounced dead,” an eyewitness recounted.
The state police command has reportedly arrested the spiritualist in connection with the incident.
