ANAMBRA COURT JAILS NATIVE DOCTOR EKE HIT SIX YEARS FOR ADVERTISING WEALTH CHARMS
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Anambra State High Court, presided over by Justice Jude Obiorah, has sentenced a popular native doctor, Ekene Igboekweze, popularly known as “Eke Hit,” to six years’ imprisonment on each of two counts for offences relating to the advertisement and preparation of charms.
Igboekweze, from Umuofor Village, Okija, in the Ihiala Local Government Area of the state, was convicted on Friday after the court found him guilty of offences bordering on advertising charms for wealth, claiming to make people rich through “Oke Ite” and other rituals, as well as preparing charms for criminals.
The sentences are to run concurrently without an option of a fine, while the period he had already spent in detention will be taken into consideration.
Igboekweze was arrested by Agunechemba security personnel in February 2025, alongside two other popular native doctors, following the signing of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025 by Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
The law prohibits native doctors from claiming to make people rich through “Oke Ite” and other rituals, as well as preparing charms for criminals.
The convict had gained popularity on social media for advertising charms for wealth and other traditional practices before his arrest.
He and the other native doctors were arraigned before the court on April 4, 2025, on charges including conspiracy, kidnapping, preparation of protective charms for criminals and money rituals.
During the trial, Igboekweze, who described himself as a registered herbalist and member of the Odinani Okija Traditional Association, told the court that he only used herbs and roots in his practice.
He also claimed that the viral videos which formed part of the basis for his arrest were old and had been created before the Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025 came into force.
Delivering judgment, Justice Obiorah held that the prosecution had proved counts one and two beyond reasonable doubt but resolved count three in favour of the defendant.
The judge said, “The prosecution proved counts one and two beyond reasonable doubt, but count three is resolved in favour of the defendant.
“The defendant is hereby found guilty on counts one and two of offences bordering on advertising charms for wealth, claiming to make people rich through ‘Oke Ite’ and other rituals, and preparing charms for criminals, among others.
“He is hereby sentenced to six years’ imprisonment on each count. The sentences shall run concurrently without an option of a fine, with the period spent in detention taken into consideration.”
Before the sentence was handed down, Igboekweze pleaded for forgiveness, saying he had learnt his lesson and asking the court to consider his family, particularly his newborn triplets, whom he said he had yet to see.
His wife, Elizabeth, and half-brother, Chief Mike, also pleaded for leniency, describing him as a kind person who was good to those around him.
Chief Mike said Igboekweze was the only son of his mother in a polygamous family and appealed to the court to temper justice with mercy.
Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, counsel to the convict, Chief Emmanuel Egbunonu, said the court had been considerate by waiving the ₦40m fine attached to the two charges.
Also speaking, Fabian Okeke of the Anambra State Ministry of Justice said the judgment was aimed at protecting society from dangerous trends capable of undermining human creativity and discouraging people from engaging in meaningful ventures.
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