A 65-year-old woman identified as Zainab Labbo, was given 12 strokes of the cane after she was found guilty of bewitching her daughter-in-law in Isa town, Sokoto State.
Her daughter-in-law accused her of using witchcraft to make her son treat her badly.
The woman was found guilty of using magical powers after she was tried at the palace of the District Head, Alhaji Nasiru Malami Ahmed according to the Sharia laws.
However, she denied the allegations leveled against her but that didn’t stop the palace guards from giving her the twelve strokes of cane following the order of the District Head.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference, aggrieved residents said that she was not the first victim to suffer such an unjust treatment by palace authorities.
An anonymous resident who spoke to journalists said: “Our people are under siege by the gross and jungle justice of the palace authorities but nobody was ready to speak out before now. We are just courageous enough to invite you people (journalists) to Isa town and see things for yourselves. We have decided to tell the whole world what we are passing through.”
Reacting on behalf of the District Head, Alhaji Aliyu Sarkin-Yamma, who is his younger brother and Village Head of Tsabre area, described the the allegations as unfounded.
He further stated that all disputes lodged at the palace are handled in accordance with the dictates of Shari’ah Law, stressing that they are running the affairs of the people with the absolute fear of God.
