LAGOS, Nigeria — The Advocacy for Alleged Witches, a Nigerian human rights organisation, has called on authorities to sanction Prophet Oyeniyi, the leader of the African Apostolic Church, after a video circulated on social media showed him physically assaulting an elderly woman during a so-called healing session.
The video, shared widely on social media platforms, depicts the cleric beating, shaking, and pushing the woman. At one point, he slapped her face and spat into her mouth.
The Advocacy for Alleged Witches condemned the incident, describing it as “revulsive” and potentially harmful to the woman’s health.
“Beating the woman could lead to trauma and other mental health injuries. Spitting into her mouth could infect the woman with flu, cold, herpes and other viral and bacterial infections,” the group said in an e-mailed statement signed by Leo Igwe, its director, to The Trent on Friday, October 3, 2025.
The organisation demanded that state authorities investigate Oyeniyi’s activities and hold him accountable.
“Oyeniyi should not be allowed to go scot-free. He needs to explain what he was doing in the video and what he was doing to the woman,” the statement continued.
“He needs to let the public know how beating and assaulting this woman and spitting into her mouth translates into healing, and healing of which ailment?”
Abuse linked to exorcism and spiritual cleansing is not uncommon in Nigeria, where some self-proclaimed pastors and prophets are accused of mistreating vulnerable people in the name of religious rituals.
In one recent case in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, church leaders were filmed flogging children and bathing them with pigeon’s blood during a spiritual cleansing ritual.
Police arrested the pastors but later released them after parents reportedly consented to the practice.
Legal experts warn that such interpretations of consent are misplaced.
“The police do not have lawful powers to consent to crime. Parents do not have the power to consent to crimes,” one lawyer said.
“Crimes, by their very nature, are wrongs against society. They are not merely personal.”
The Advocacy for Alleged Witches urged Nigerian authorities to take firmer action against faith healers who exploit and harm vulnerable people under the guise of religious practice.
“State authorities should rise to their duties and responsibilities, and provide leadership to the public. They should know that ‘faith healers’ are charlatans; that quacks and impostors, like Oyeniyi, constitute a nuisance to public health and well-being.”
The group reiterated its demand for stricter oversight and accountability mechanisms, noting that perpetrators of such abuses are rarely punished.
