Enugu Native Doctor Arrested for Suspected Ritual Killings

The recent abduction of a teenager has led to the uncovering of several gruesome crimes committed or aided by a popular traditional doctor in Enugu State, South-East Nigeria. Graphic videos from the home of the accused and testimonies of eyewitnesses confirm years of suspicion among locals.

The native doctor, popularly known as Ezeani or “E dey play, e dey show”,  has been identified as  Levi Onyeka Obieze, and these disturbing incidents  took place in Umuojor, a village in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State.

On Monday, 26th May, 2025, a 13-year old girl identified as Ukamaka Okonkwo was allegedly  abducted by two men on her way to the farm with her father. The suspects were driving by on a motorcycle when they pretended that their vehicle had developed a fault and asked her father for assistance. Amid the distraction, she was taken away on the motorcycle.

In her video testimony, Ukamaka recounts: ‘We went to bring some firewood for making garri, and then they came up, asking my dad for a machete to repair their machine [motorcycle]. My dad then gave them his machete. They shifted their machine and then grabbed me…’

Upon realizing that his teenage daughter had been abducted, the young girl’s father alerted local vigilante groups, who began a search for her. Several villagers that evening reportedly heard loud cries coming from a nearby bush. Further investigation by the vigilante group led to the compound of a well known traditionalist.

High Chief Levi Onyeka Obieze allegedly tried to restrict the vigilantes from gaining access onto his property, to no avail, and then fled the premises shortly after. The cries of the abducted girl were traced to a pit in this compound around 3:15am on Tuesday, 27th May, as the rest of her testimony confirms:

‘They gagged me and tied my legs up… They kept me in a corner, dug the ground… They covered the hole, I started shouting, and the security officers came and brought me out.’

Other decomposing bodies were found in soakaway pits underneath the building upon further investigation, including that of a man and another of a pregnant woman. This follows reports of missing community members, including a young student of CSS Umana.

Photo by Ozor Ndi Ozor, on X

According to the police spokesman, the victims’ remains were found in a concrete-sealed pit beneath an unfinished building used by the suspect as a shrine. They were recently murdered and buried, or buried alive, as part of rituals. The suspect is known for his lavish lifestyle and has “worked” for many clients.

In the wake of this terrifying and disturbing news, enraged youths of Umuojor community stormed the building, captured photo and video evidence of several decomposing bodies found in soakaway pits and burned down the suspect’s shrine, fleet of cars and parts of his house.

That same day, on the orders of Enugu State Governor Dr. Peter Mbah and in congruence with Enugu State laws, the building was also demolished. A number of native doctors from Ezeagu LGA took to streets the next day in a protest, denouncing Ezeani as one of them.

The Public Relations Officer of the Enugu State Police Command, SP Daniel Ndukwe, later identified three suspects in the teenager’s abduction as Ejike Odinwankpa, 38, Onyedikachi Nweze Ilo, 36, and Uche Kingsley Agumba, 33. 

On Thursday, 29th May, the wanted native doctor was apprehended at the Nigerian Immigration Service in Lagos on his way out of the country. He was caught during a stop and search operation at the border between Nigeria and Benin Republic while attempting to flee.

The suspect’s identity was confirmed at the Seme border, where he denied the allegations and dismissed them as a political issue. He allegedly tried to bribe an NIS official, Ugochukwu Orji, but the prudent man turned him in. This arrest has been confirmed by NIS Public Relations Officer ACI Akinsola Alabi.

Ugochukwu has been praised and rewarded for his uprightness and unwillingness to be swayed by a gift of ten million naira and an iPhone with lives on the line. He has been reportedly gifted the sum of one million naira by politician Ugwumba Uche Nwosu to this effect.

In a statement on Sunday, 1st June, Enugu State’s Commissioner fir Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Ngozi Enih, revealed that the state governor has offered a scholarship to the rescued 13-year-old which would see her from her present class up until she concludes her university education.

This comes in addition to moving her to a rehabilitation facility to assist her in overcoming the trauma she faced at the hands of the ritualist. Levi O. Obieze, who is currently in the custody of the Lagos State Police Command, is set to be transferred to Enugu to face trial.