Follow Us on Google
A rights group, the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AFAW), has called for the outright rejection of a proposed bye-law seeking to prohibit the invocation of harmful juju in Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The group, an affiliate of the Critical Thinking Social Empowerment Foundation (CTSEF), made the call in a statement signed by its Director, Dr Leo Igwe, and made available to journalists in Owerri.
The proposed legislation is titled: “A Bill for the Bye-Law for the Prohibition of the Invocation of Harmful Juju and Other Matters Related Thereto in Tai Local Government Area, 2026”.
In the statement, the organisation described the bill as biased against traditional religion practitioners and a violation of the rights to freedom of religion and conscience guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to the group, the characterisation of “harmful juju” in the title of the bill is a value judgement that the Constitution does not permit any authority to presume.
The group faulted Sections 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the bill, which seek to criminalise and prescribe penalties for invoking charms, juju or spiritual powers to harm, threaten or influence any person. It argued that such acts are “incapable of precision” and “outside evidential proof”, noting that Nigerian courts have held that claimed spiritual powers are not cognisable in a court of law.
“Criminalizing an act that is incapable of proof seems to be a supremely idle undertaking by any kind of legislature under our constitutional and legal regime,” the statement said.
The Advocacy for Alleged Witches further argued that the bye-law is ultra vires the powers of a Local Government Legislative Council. It said the Criminal Code applicable in Rivers State, particularly Chapter 20, already sufficiently covers issues relating to juju, charms and claims to supernatural powers, and that the principle of “covering the field” renders the Tai bill “dead on arrival.”
The group also condemned Section 6(3) of the bill, which provides for banishment from the community as a penalty, saying it violates constitutional guarantees of freedom of movement and the right to reside anywhere in Nigeria.
It similarly faulted Section 9, which seeks to empower traditional rulers, youth councils, community task forces and local residents to arrest persons who invoke or intend to invoke juju, warning that it could trigger large-scale rights violations.
“This is an invitation to inaugurate large-scale retrogression to the dark ages of witch-hunts,” Igwe stated.
While acknowledging that the bill may have been well-intentioned, the group said its stated aims of protecting human rights and reducing reliance on superstition cannot be achieved through such legislation, but through education and advocacy.
The organisation urged the Tai Local Government Council to jettison the bill completely, saying it does not add value to the existing legal regime and could encourage witch-hunts and traumatise vulnerable persons.
“The intention to protect the people of Tai Local Government can best be served by engaging traditional institutions and properly educating them out of prevalent ignorance,” the statement concluded.
