Witchdoctors Arrested After 50 Mutilated Bodies Found

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Nigeria: Police Arrest Witchdoctors After Finding 50 Mutilated Bodies In 'Evil Forest'

Nigerian police said on Thursday they had arrested 30 witch doctors on suspicion of carrying out human sacrifices after finding 50 mutilated bodies and 20 skulls in an area of thick bush known to local people as the "Evil Forest."

Police spokesman Kolapo Shofuluwe said most of the bodies found near Okija village in Anambra State in southeastern Nigeria were missing hearts, breasts, genitals or other vital organs.

They were found on Wednesday after a tip-off from a villager, he added.

"I have never seen anything this horrible in my life!" Shofuluwe said. "Human beings butchered in such a manner! Some of the corpses are actually fresh."

"We are looking at this thing from various angles," he added. "The priests may have killed some of them for their rituals.

The mainstream religions of Christianity and Islam mingle in Nigeria with traditional faiths, many of which involve fetish magic, known as juju.

Ritual killings are common in some parts of country, where some people believe they can accrue great riches by participating in macabre ceremonies. Others believe human body parts can be worn as charms to protect the bearer from physical or spiritual harm.

Nigerian media reported on Thursday that businessmen and politicians from the economic capital Lagos and the east of the country were among the clients of the Okija witchdoctors.

Police said the victims had been made to pledge cash and other property to a deity after their death and that enquiries were continuing.

"Many others could still be lying there because it is a thick forest and very difficult to penetrate," State Police Commissioner Felix Ogbaudu told the Vanguard newspaper.