LOCAL authorities in Isa Local Government Area of Sokoto State have sentenced a 65 year old woman to 12 strokes of the cane in public after she accused and found guilty of practising witchcraft.
In the first such incidence of its kind, Zainab Labbo, was flogged at the palace of the district head, Alhaji Nasiru Malami Ahmed, after her daughter-in-law accused her of witchcraft. Apparently, the victim’s daughter-in-law had told the traditional ruler last year that she was aiding her son through diabolical means to maltreat her.
Local residents revealed that the palace authorities summarily tried the accused and found her guilty of the allegations levelled against her. Ms Labbo denied the allegations but was found guilty and 12 strokes were administered on her by the palace guards on the orders of the district head.
Sokoto is one of the most conservative states in Nigeria, being the seat of the country's one time Islamic caliphate. Its population is overwhelmingly Muslim and they practice the strict Sharia code which penalises misdemeanours with strict punishment like flogging and the amputation of limbs.
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