Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, revealed on Wednesday that 23 citizens of Anambra State are currently facing the death penalty in Indonesia for drug-related crimes.
He made this disclosure while speaking to a group of All Progressives Congress (APC) members who had defected to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to support his re-election campaign.
“Go to Indonesia, 23 Ndi Anambra are on death row there for drug-related offences,” he said.
Governor Soludo attributed this situation to the influence of fraudulent traditional healers who mislead young individuals into believing that they can bypass security checks when smuggling drugs by using charms.
Read Also: Tinubu Mourns As Prominent Justice Dies
“These native doctors will deceive you that they will prepare a charm that when you carry drugs and enter the airport, the white man’s scanner will go blind.
“These young people believe them, and today, many of our people are languishing in jail across the world,” he stated.
Governor Soludo issued a warning, stating that anyone found making such deceptive claims would be arrested.
He pointed out that many of these self-proclaimed traditional healers are unable to use their alleged powers to improve their own living conditions.
The governor added, “One of the native doctors who is in detention, his son is a waiter in a hotel in Nnewi. If it was that simple, why didn’t he make his son a millionaire?
“One of them that we arrested has sworn that he is just a content creator, yet he has used things like these to deceive our young people that you can become rich without doing any work, as far as you have done oke Ite (money rituals).”
The governor said such beliefs were damaging the mindset of youths in the state.
“That is why you see young people who wake up in the morning and retire to beer parlours drinking, hoping to get rich later in life,” he added.
Governor Soludo clarified that while the state government does not oppose traditional religion, it is committed to cracking down on individuals who promote harmful practices under the guise of spirituality.
“We are not against traditional worshippers; what we are against is people who are doing dangerous medicines and charms.
“We have always known those who are into traditional practices, they have things they believe in, and they were about the most upright people then.
“Those were people who believed that if you did the wrong thing, you could be killed by the gods of the land. But what these new crop of criminal native doctors are doing is deceit, and we will not allow that to continue,” he said.
Governor Soludo reiterated his administration’s determination to continue its crackdown on promoters of “Oke ite” and other quick-wealth schemes.
Join Informant Online WhatsApp Channel With Link Below: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaihFajBadmT29ufud2
