Taking Action Against Ndalile and Witch Beating and Torture in Mokwa

By Leo Igwe

I am urging concerned members of the public to take action and help bring an end to the beating and torture of persons suspected to be witches in Mokwa, Niger state. So far, all efforts to stop this campaign of abuse have been unsuccessful. A self-acclaimed Muslim healer, Muhammad Hassan Patigi is the main perpetrator. And the traditional ruler of Mokwa, the Ndalile of Mokwa, Shaba Aliyu Mohammed, has been frustrating efforts to rein in this charlatan. In the past months, the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AFAW) has received reports and information about the bogus healing activities of Hassan Patigi.

AFAW alerted the police authorities in Niger state. The police promised to bring the situation under control. Unfortunately, the situation has not changed. Hassan Patigi is still carrying on with his ‘faith healing’ and witchcraft exorcism in Mokwa.

Disgusting images and videos of his activities are still circulating on social media. These videos contain scenes where Hassan Patigi is abusing alleged witches. In the last few days, AFAW received information that some youths in Mokwa were planning to expel Patigi from their community. I called the Divisional Police Officer(DPO) and informed him about this development. I inquired to know why the police had been unable to stop the witch-hunting activities. The DPO sounded helpless. He said that Patigi had many followers and it won’t be possible to clamp down on his activities without some backlash. He asked me to contact the Ndalile, the ‘human rights people’, and the bureau for religious affairs. I was disappointed by the response of the DPO. I rang up the Ndalile, but as soon as I introduced myself and the purpose of my call- to draw his attention to the activities of Mallam Hassan Patigi, he dropped the call. I called back over 20 times and he did not pick. The number would ring and then say: “Line busy”.

Now I called the Director of State Security (DSS). He listened to me patiently for a while and also dropped the call. I tried reaching him again without success. I phoned the director for religious affairs and inquired to know why they had not intervened in the case of Hassan Patigi. I mentioned that the DPO said it was a religious issue. He said it was not and that his office would not intervene. I called another senior police officer who asked not to be mentioned. And he told me that the police could not intervene because Hassan Patigi had strong support from the community and the solution would require the mobilization of stakeholders in the area, not police actions. Then I phoned the chairman of Mokwa local government area and he promised me that they would take steps to end the immoral, shameful, and illegal activities of Hassan Patigi in the coming weeks.

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From my conversation with the different stakeholders, I noticed that the police were reluctant to intervene because Patigi had the support of the Ndalile. The Ndalile must be pressured to stop enabling his inhuman activities.

So if you are concerned about the revulsive witch-hunting activities of Hassan Patigi in Mokwa, please call the Ndalile and register your disgust and disapproval of his role in this campaign of abuse. Phone or text the Ndalile at the following number (from Nigeria 08035890274, from outside +234 8035890274) and ask him to stop supporting Patigi’s bogus healing and campaign of abuse in Mokwa.