One Chioma Ezeonyido, a waiter at a restaurant in Awka, almost became a victim of ritual killing when an okada operator who was to convey her to her home after a hard day’s job turned out to be a ritualist, and attempted to behead her after forcefully driving her into a bush along the route they travelled.

Though she was able to survive the attempt, doctors gave up on her, having not seen anyone survive such cuts in her throat before.

Seeing the heavy stitches round her neck, where the murderer tore through her skin all round, one will wonder if her head had not fallen off from her body before it was joined together with stitches from her doctor. Coupled with that is another cut with a knife on the artery on her ankle, connecting her legs to her feet. According to her, this was a deliberate attempt by the ritualist to ensure that she does not leave the bush until he returns with a bigger cutlass since her head refused to fall off her body despite the cut round her neck.

According to Chioma, “on that evening, I closed work at Amawbia and felt I should use an okada to go back to the house, instead of the bus I usually board. I live at Nise, a village in Awka south. I met this tall and huge black man at Amawbia junction on a bike, when I beckoned on him, he was ready to carry me.

“I had no reason to suspect him, even though I should have. The man throughout did not say a word, so I would not know what his voice sounded like. I boarded his okada and he moved with me, we sped past a military check point at the border of Amawbia and Nise and were heading to St Paul’s College, Nise when he suddenly braked and said the only word I heard from him throughout the encounter. He said he saw a phone by the road side, and without seeking my permission, he simply reversed and went for it and on getting there we found out there was not phone, instead of continuing on the journey, he sped through a track road into the bush.

“All my enquiries to know why he was speeding into the bush brought forth no answer. At this point I sensed danger and thought it would be wiser to jump off the bike and save my life. I did just that, but as I landed on the ground I could not stand on time, even at that he too quickly dumped his bike and charged at me.

“The first thing he did was to use my hair tie to fasten round my throat, such that I found it very difficult to shout. We struggled with ourselves for quite some time, just as he dragged me further into the bush, then produced a knife which he now stabbed my neck with. As you are seeing these stitches on my neck, it is very deep. Something that my entire hand entered into. But surprisingly, I was not feeling any pain then, the man went further after trying to cut my neck from the front which is my throat, he stabbed be in the back of my neck and was pulling the knife so that the cut will join the one in the front and probably for my head to fall off.” She explained.

Though she was surprised why she should still be alive, she also believed that the spirit in her was more than the one in the man as he was obviously not happy that she could not behead her that easily. She stated that she laid still as if she was already dead, until the man feeling disgusted held her ankle and cut it.

This she said may be for him to go out and source for a bigger knife, while taking precaution so she does not regain consciousness and move away.

“After sometime, though I cannot say for how long, I opened my eyes and saw that the man was no longer there. I managed to move, how I did that I did not know. I found my way to the highway, where I fell on the road blocking the way. Every motorist that saw me refused to stop, rather they dodged my body and continued. Maybe they thought it was a set up. It was after sometime that the military people came; maybe someone had gone to alert them. That was how I was taken to the hospital and given treatment.”

Asked if she thinks it is a case of attempt to assassinate her, Chioma said she has not had any misunderstanding with any one recently or even in the past. She also stated that if the man was bent on killing him, he would have stabbed her on other parts of her body to ensure that she died, but the man was only particular about his neck, which she said is an indication that the man was seeking her head.

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