A tragic event unfolded on Tuesday in the Oke-Ijeun area of Abeokuta, Ogun State, where an elderly woman, Kehinde Ojo, was lynched by a mob following accusations of witchcraft.

Disturbing videos circulating on social media show Ojo, visibly frail and unable to speak, being subjected to inhumane treatment while lying in a pit.

The old woman was accused by the mob of transforming from a large bird into a human in broad daylight. According to a Saturday PUNCH report, a prophetess from a local white garment church raised the alarm, claiming that Ojo transformed from a bird into a human and fell onto her church’s roof while she was praying. In a video, the prophetess and other community members were seen interrogating the old woman. The prophetess's name could not be ascertained.

A video shows personnel from the state police command rescuing the woman. She was reportedly taken to the hospital but later died.

Narrating the incident to Saturday PUNCH, Kabir Kehinde, one of the deceased's children, accused the prophetess and her son of beating his mother to death. According to him, his mother lost her way while visiting his brother, who lived behind the church, on Monday evening and was attacked by the prophetess.

“My mother was not a witch; she was wrongly accused and beaten to death by the prophetess. My mother had gone to visit my brother on Monday evening and lost her way because she had sight problems.

“The prophetess and others beat her from Monday evening till Tuesday morning. They inflicted injuries on her because they were pestering her to confess to witchcraft.

“Despite her repeated pleas of innocence, they descended on her, beating and accusing her of witchcraft.

“My mother was still bleeding from the injuries even till the day we buried her. We have reported the case to the police and the prophetess has been arrested,” Kehinde said.

Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Omolola Odutola, on the phone for an update on the issue failed.

Meanwhile, Leo Igwe of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches has urged Nigerians to realize that no human being turns into a bird, snake, or cat as popularly believed.

He said the statement has become necessary following a viral video of the elderly woman in the Ago/Egun Isabo area in Ogun State.

Igwe said, “This video illustrates the grip of superstition on the minds of Nigerians. Modern education has not succeeded in weakening this grip. The misconception that a human being can turn into a bird remains a popular superstition.

“The notion that a human being could magically turn or transform into a bird or cat is counterintuitive. This claim contradicts the fundamentals of science and logic that Nigerians study in schools. Religions often preach, peddle, and reinforce this mistaken idea, and baseless nonsense, motivating Nigerians to show no compassion for persons believed to have the capacity to transform into animals.

“Nigerians often use this misconception to justify murder, torture and maltreatment of elderly persons, including those suffering from dementia and other mental health challenges.”

AfAW urged Nigerians to abandon such superstitions and embrace science and critical thinking.