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Mrs. Erueke John, the biological mother of late Joshua Zikeme, the 7-year-old boy, who was allegedly tortured to death at Akaba community in Yenagoa LGA of Bayelsa State, by his father and step-mother over allegation of witchcraft, yesterday, cried out that her son was a victim of a vicious father and not a wizard.
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Mrs. John claimed that the allegation of wizardry by the suspects was based on a revelation from a church based in Yenagoa. According to her, “the church is a one room place of worship. They claimed they took my son to the place and they were told he was a wizard.”
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She said her son was tied to a stake and savagely brutalised to death. The police had, Monday, arrested the deceased boy’s father, Idiesy Zikeme, and the step-mother, Eunice Zikeme, on suspicion of torturing the boy to death.
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The deceased, according to security sources, was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, dead with several bruises on his body, a development that raised the suspicion of the management, who promptly alerted the police, leading to the couple’s arrest.
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Speaking yesterday, the 29-year-old biological mother of the deceased, Mrs. Erueke John, said though the boy was stubborn, he never displayed any sign of wizardry as alleged by the suspects.
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She said: “They killed my son in cold blood. I was told the suspects used sharp objects to slice all parts of his body in an attempt to exorcise him. I left the father’s house while I was pregnant with the boy, because he was beating me and was also into illegal sales of hard drugs.” Cc: Vanguardngr
