Anambra State Government has destroyed the shrine of popular native doctor Chidozie Nwangwu, widely known as Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki, at Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area, following a court judgment delivered earlier today in Awka.
The eradication of the shrine is being supervised by Mr Ken Emeakayi, Special Adviser to Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Community Security, and carried out by operatives of the Agunechemba security outfit.
The vast shrine, which contained native pots, pictures of persons, carved images, clothing, and other ritual objects associated with the traditionalist’s practice, is being dismantled piece by piece and will be set ablaze, in line with the court’s order for the site to be fully demolished and the process recorded on video.
The court had earlier sentenced Nwangwu to 12 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, obtaining by fraud, and promoting the “Oke Ite” ritual, which the state alleged were used to spiritual‑fortify criminals and aid kidnappers in violation of the Anambra Homeland Security Law.
Authorities described the demolition as a “surgical operation” against criminality disguised as traditional religion and a show of the state’s zero‑tolerance stance on shrine‑linked insecurity.
