A 35-year-old woman, identified as Osasere, has been arrested by the police after allegedly throwing her five-year-old son into the River Ovia in the Ovia North-East local government area of Edo State, following the advice of a seer who reportedly described the child as a “python spirit”.
The incident, which has sparked outrage among residents, was said to have occurred at River Ovia, where the woman allegedly dumped the child into the water.
According to eyewitnesses, fishermen in the area spotted the woman throwing the child into the river and immediately intervened.
The fishermen reportedly pursued her and prevented an angry mob from lynching her before taking her in a canoe to search for the child.
As of the time of filing this report, efforts to recover the body of the child had not yielded results.
In a viral video circulating on social media, Osasere narrated that she gave birth to the boy five years ago, but became concerned when he had not started walking.
She further disclosed that after the birth of the child, several attempts to conceive again ended in miscarriages.
The suspect claimed that a friend subsequently took her to a seer for spiritual consultation. According to her, the seer informed her that the five-year-old boy was a python spirit and was responsible for the repeated miscarriages by allegedly “eating” the babies in her womb.
Osasere said the seer advised her to throw the child into River Ovia if she wanted to become pregnant again.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Edo State Police Command, Eno Ikoedem said the woman and the seer had been taken into custody while investigations continue.
Police authorities said further details would be released as the investigation progressed.
