REPORTER: UCHE NDEKE
Anambra State High Court in Awka, presided over by Justice Jude Obiorah has sentenced a popular native doctor from Umuofor Village, Okija in Ihiala Local Government Area, Mr. Ekene Igboekweze, popularly known as “Eke Hit”, to six years imprisonment.
Though he was convicted and sentenced to six years imprisonment each on two of the six count charges brought against him, the sentence will however run concurrently.
The native doctor rose to prominence on the social media for advertising charms purportedly used for wealth and other purposes.
He was arrested in February 2025 by operatives of the Anambra State security outfit, Agunechemba alongside two other native doctors following the signing into law of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025 by Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
The convict and the other native doctors were arraigned before the court in April last year on charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, preparing protective charms for criminals, and money rituals.
In his defence, the native doctor told the court that he is a registered herbalist and member of the Odinani Okija Traditional Association and uses only herbs and roots in his practice .
Delivering the judgment, Justice Obiorah held that the prosecution proved counts one and two beyond reasonable doubt but resolved count three in favour of the defendant.
Before the sentence was passed, the native doctor admitted that he had learnt his lessons and pleaded for forgiveness, urging the court to consider his family and the newborn triplets he had not yet seen because he was in custody.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the judgment, counsel to the Native Doctor, Chief Emmanuel Egbunonu, said the court was considerate in waiving the forty million naira fine attached to the two charges.
A government counsel, Fabian Okeke described the judgment as a measure aimed at protecting the society from dangerous trends that undermine human creativity and the ability to engage in meaningful ventures.
