Bird Turned To A Woman And Now The ‘Bird Woman’ Sons Surface, Deny Mum’s Witchcraft Accusation

                                    

Two men – children of the unidentified elderly woman who was almost lynched by a mob in the Ajegunle area of Lagos after being accused of witchcraft – have identified the victim as their mother.

They said the octogenarian was not a witch, but a victim of the nature and had been missing from home.

PUNCH Metro had reported on Wednesday that the elderly woman was attacked by a mob which accused her of being a black bird that transformed into a human being.

It was alleged that while being beaten, the woman confessed that she was a witch and had flown to Ibadan, Oyo State for a meeting but got tired on returning from Lagos and fell from the sky.

The woman was subsequently rescued by the police and taken to the Area B Command.

However, sources at the command told PUNCH Metro that two sons of the victim came to the command on Thursday after seeing their mother’s picture in the newspapers.

The source said the two men explained that their mother had wandered off some days ago and they had been looking for her.

The men, who said they lived in the Iju Ishaga area of the state were said to have been puzzled as to how their mother walked all the way to Ajegunle.

A policeman at the command said, “This morning (Thursday), two men came to the command claiming that they were the sons of the woman. The men said their mother was not a witch and were very angry with the manner the rumour was spreading.

“They said they were shocked that youths could attack an old woman in her 80s and they were even asking for justice because the woman sustained bruises on her head.”

Another police source at the command said that the Area commander, ACP Ndubueze Anene, had transferred the woman to the command headquarters in Ikeja for further investigation.

He said the sons had also gone to the headquarters to provide evidence that the woman was indeed their mother.

Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, told PUNCH Metro that the woman was not a witch and warned residents of the state against jungle justice.

When asked if the woman had been released, Braide said, “Yes she has been released to her son. The family said due to her old age, she was very ill and was brought from Ibadan to Lagos to stay with one of her sons.

“The woman’s daughter-in-law said she went to buy drugs for her nearby, but by the time she returned home, the woman had left the house.”

Source Punch written by Eniola Akinkuotu

The first day story below

Shocker Bird Turns To Old Woman In Lagos

The dark-complexioned nonagenarian with tribal marks, who spoke in Yoruba, told a bewildered crowd that she was on her way back to Ibadan, Oyo State (as a bird) when she missed her track.
She was also said to have told the mammoth crowd that her mystical powers disappointed her because it was dawn. Then, all of a sudden, one of them landed on a moving pick‑up van owned by Eko Electricity Distribution Company.
Eye-witnesses told Vanguard that three black birds were seen at about 7am, flying side‑by‑side along Old Ojo Road.
An eye witness who identified himself simply as Mr Okafor said: “Immediately the bird landed on the van, it transformed into an old woman.
“Everyone ran away at first but we later gathered round the woman only to discover that she had a bruise on her forehead with which she landed.
“When we asked her what her mission was, she said three of them were sent to Lagos from their coven in Ibadan but that on their way back, they missed their way.
“She said they started hovering in the area until it was morning, adding that she fell because she was tired.
“She also told us that she initially did not want to embark on the journey and that she used to restrict her witchcraft activities to Ibadan because of her age.
“She was thereafter taken to the Baale of Ajeromi, where she confessed to have killed her husband through witchcraft.”
Policemen from Layeni Police Division were said to have been contacted to prevent the woman from being lynched and they came and took her away.
Police sources told Vanguard that the woman would be released to any of her relations who shows up, explaining that the law does not recognise witchcraft.
“She has not committed any crime and will, therefore, be released to any member of her family who shows up. We did not arrest her. We only prevented a likely jungle justice,” the police source said.
Source Vanguard Chic Benita