Rebecca Adewumi

Rebecca Adewumi (c. 1942–30 June 2012), also spelled Rebecca Adewunmi, was a Nigerian woman murdered in Omuo-Ekiti, Ekiti State, following accusations of witchcraft. She was accused of using witchcraft to cause her stepson Ola Adewumi illness. According to her family, Rebecca Adewuni was subjected to a trial by ordeal in the palace of the Olomuo of Omuo-Ekiti and later beaten to death by youths.

Her murder attracted the condemnation of the Ekiti State Government, which led to a police investigation, and the prosecution of three people for conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful accusation of witchcraft, trial by ordeal, unlawful deprivation of liberty, and murder.

Accusation and alleged ordeal Rebecca Adewumi, a 70-year-old woman from Omuo-Ekiti in Ekiti East local government, was accused by her stepson’s of using witchcraft to make him sick. According to reports, Adewumi’s murder was committed by a group of youths known as the “Omekula”. However, according to the Nation report, the group’s name is spelt “Imekula”. The Nation further reported that Ola Adewumi, whose allegation prompted the murder, died from an illness that struck him following Adewumi’s death. According to Vanguard, her family’s lawyer, Femi Omotoso, filed a police complaint and called for investigations and prosecutions of those responsible for the death.

The police also invited the Oba for questioning. According to her family, Adewumi’s death was not caused by a long-standing ulcer as the autopsy report revealed. Rather, her family asserted that she was murdered after the ordeal. The three were released from police custody but put on bail in September 2012.

The defendants, alongside other persons at large, stood trial on six charges, including felony, conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful accusation of witchcraft, and trial by ordeal, unlawful deprivation of liberty, and murder. In December 2012, Justice Oluwatoyin Bodunde of the Ekiti State High Court denied bail to the defendants citing various reasons. She directed that the defendants continue to have access to healthcare.

In the May 2013 trial, Orojo’s lawyers argued that his police statement was taken forcefully and moved for a trial within a trial to challenge its admissibility. Justice Bodunde granted the request for a trial within a trial and during cross-examination, Orojo confessed to having lied about Adewangi’s fingers being cut and about her being given a potion to force her to reveal if she resorted to witchcraft.

The prosecution further wanted to call the pathologist who performed the post-mortem examination. However, because his testimony could not be produced in the November 2013 hearing, the court was postponed to January 2014 with a direction that the prosecution should conclude its evidence. According to the Nation report, the prosecution of those responsible for Adewungi’s killing was discontinued after a long standoff.

In July 2015, the Nation reported that the prosecution was discontinued after a long strike by judges and prosecutors. The report noted that the Office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice filed a notice discontinuing the case after the strike. The judge presiding over the case strongly objected to the discontinuance. The reports further revealed that none of the defendants was convicted for Adewungi’s murder.

Context Adewungi’s killing was cited in research on supernatural beliefs and attitudes towards older persons in Ekiti State. In a study published as a chapter in the 2016 book Touching Lives through Psychology and Other Crossover Issues , psychologists Sulaiman Olanrewaju Adebayo and Tosin Tunrayo Olonisakin examined paranormal beliefs and attitude towards older persons among adolescents in Ado-Ekiti.

They determined that superstitions and witchcraft beliefs were among the paranormal beliefs that significantly predicted negative perception towards older persons. In discussing the prevalence of witchcraft-related beliefs and attitudes towards older persons, the authors identified the case of a 70-year-old woman who was tortured to death in Omuo-Ekiti for being accused of using witchcraft.

Adebayo and Olonisakin wrote that misfortunes, which could not be explained were often attributed to older persons especially women. Adewungi’s murder was also reported by Nigerian journalist, Olusegun Adeniyi, in his column Apani Ma Wagun, Olokiki Oru. In a review of extrajudicial killings in Nigeria, Adeniyi examined the circumstances surrounding Adewungi’s death and mostly relied on her daughter’s report, which was published previously by The Guardian.

The case was further highlighted by humanist activist, Leo Igwe, in a 2013 commentary on killings in Africa linked to witchcraft accusations. Igwe examined the violence often directed at older women and presented several cases across Africa. Adewungi’s murder was cited as one of the many attacks directed at older persons.