A few years ago I used to hear stories of cannibalism still being present in Africa. I never believed them But as I grow, I have come to realise there is still so much dark activity out there.
Back in the old days in Africa, grandma’s end was the best place for a child to run to even when he/she wronged his parents. You always knew grandma would welcome you with love and affection. Parents will actually leave you with grandma if they want you well taken care of.
But somewhere in Africa, many grandmothers are being accused of witchcraft wrongly simply because a few of them are notoriously obnoxious, mischievous and scheming. The west may have its primitive ways but cannibalism is the last thing you expect to hear in 2014. Who would even expect that there are still human beings who will slaughter another like a fowl?
Okay let me retract that. There are human groups that slaughter each other to this day. We know of terrorist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram. But to eat the meat of the human being you were evil enough to kill is a whole different level that we do not hear about. And when those people end up being people you know, your own relatives, your blood, family! It forces us to rethink how safe we are in the midst of family. Africa is indeed riddled with many perplexing issues. Ebola, Cholera, HIV, Terrorism and more. It really is just too much for us to be afraid of being eaten by each other too!
How do you kill a whole human being just to make soup to eat? Have you finished eating everything the world has to offer or will eating another human being ensure that you live forever? What could it be!?
In as much as I hate hearing old women being vilified in our communities, it seems as though some old women do everything possible to be called witches. Because how will a normal old woman even conceive the thought of killing her own grandchild to the point of cutting him up and using him as meat for soup? And by your own relatives? The very thought makes my stomach turn. Only in Africa!
In a village called Koso in Niger State, a nine year old boy went missing mysteriously and the police conducted an investigation which proved futile. The young boy Mohammed Doo Liman could not be found since last month and as the investigation continued, the police received a tip off which implicated his grandmother. The grandmother was arrested and interrogated which led to the finding that she together with two other relatives were the brains behind the gruesome incident.
The other relatives, Amina Musa is said to have helped cook the boy and Zhitsu Aliyu is said to have been the one who put a machete to the boys throat and slaughtered him. The utensils used were also found and taken by the police.
The three criminal cannibals have since been charged with culpable homicide and cannibalism. As to why they used the boy’s body for their pepper soup delicacy, only they can answer why such a primitive and horrible act of cannibalism is even part of their lives.