They used their woods to even cook food."
Feeling scandalised that in the 21st century when other nations have conquered Mars, Moon, etc., Nigerians were still worshipping idols, Bishop Ephraim Ndife of Holy Ghost Ministries in Aroka urged the police to be thorough in their investigations so that more of such shrines and deities would be unmasked.
"If possible, let all native doctors be summoned to tell the world how they get the human parts they freely use," Bishop Ephraim said.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mr. Kolapo Shofoluwe has advised the people, especially citizens of the state to report any summon from any unorthodox court to the nearest police station.
He said it is now evident that the motive behind the cults' activities was to extort money from gullible individuals, adding that it was discovered that if such invitation was ignored, the group might adopt to intimidate and even use force on their victims.
The Director of Communications, Catholic Diocese of Nnewi, Rev Fr Hygi Aghaulo described the episode as "a challenge for the church of Jesus Christ to do more work."
He noted that the involvement of Christians did not mean that the pastors and priests were not doing enough but that many have become faint-hearted.
"The Christian faith is still strong and the same. Nevertheless, the discoveries will help men of God to work harder because even among the Biblical 12 Apostles of Christ one became a sell-out and betrayed his Master."
He narrated how some years ago, one Rev. Tim Ariunobi challenged the native doctors and Ogwugwu priests, who were troubling his parishioners that defied their invitations and summons, to an open combat.
Ariunobi, Aghaulo added, had taken a date for the confrontation between him on one side and all the Ogwugwu and other fetish native doctors on the other hand for the people to be liberated.
"The Reverend waited to put a stop to a situation where these naked cheats terrorise the entire neighbourhood of Christians that mere mention of Ogwugwu would send cold sweat down the spine of the natives then.
"So, on the appointed date, Ariunobi and the catechist of his St. Joseph's Parish, Awka Etiti, went after the idol worshippers in their den, charging them to show up and be damned. None of the fetish doctors came out," he said.
In a personal confirmation of the story, Fr. Ariunobi, who is in his 70s, told The Guardian that when he carried the war to the shrines, the occult priests "hid inside their ramshackle huts, while I stood out side calling them to come out. They remained inside grumbling aloud."
He said he later he seized all their paraphernalia of operations and other fetish objects and dared their gods to kill him. This was more than a decade ago and till today nothing happened to the reverend, who had for some years now lectured at the Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu and is currently at the All Hallows Seminary, Onitsha where he spoke to The Guardian.
Rev. Fr. Martin Onukwuba, who is the Director of Social Communications and Director, Justice Development and Peace Commission, (JDPC) of the Catholic Arch-diocese of Onitsha, disclosed that Ogwugwu appeared to have been subconsciously become part of the Okija culture, which no one dared talk about.
"As a priest, I had a personal experience about the Okija shrines because when I was ordained a priest in 1989, I was posted there. I remained there for two years; I know the location of the shrines, though I never entered inside.
"The forest location itself was frightening. It affected virtually every aspect of life because any small misunderstanding can lead to being reported or summoned to the shrines. This hampered social interaction too."
Another priest of the Anglican Church, who serves at Emmanuel's Anglican Church, Ideani, Rev. Ubaka once told a story of how a native of Okija, went to report all members of his family at the Ogwugwu shrines because he felt his relations refused to assist him start up a business.
Unfortunately, the young man in question (names withheld) was loose with money, having frittered away his capital running into thousands of naira, which had angered his brothers to abandoned him to his fate.
It was when three persons had dead within two weeks in the same family that inquiries were made, which revealed that the particular young man had taken them to the shrines.
Bishop Ephraim Ndife, who is the state's chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) saw the perpetuators of the Okija shrines act as dupes and cheats, who must be properly investigated and brought to book.
He prayed that the usual Nigerian factor should not set in and praised the police for rising up to the occasion.
Also reacting to the Okija shrines saga, an Enugu-based businessman, Chief Ejiamatu Igbokwe described it as a shameful and disgraceful thing on the part of the South Easterners.
He described today's young people as being too desperate to become rich, and "renders them spiritually blind and insane."
"This rush for wealth at all cost push then into all kinds of things. I am ashamed that my people of Igbo origin have become neck-deep into fetish and occultic practices," the he said.
Igbokwe observed that because of high level of mistrust among the people, "these diabolical deity worshipers get themselves entangled in issues meant for the police, and the law courts, thereby usurping the duties and powers of such statutory bodies."
