By Deji Ola
A young woman, identified as Roseline, was violently attacked at her workplace in Ibafo in the early hours of Sunday, February 11, 2024, by an unknown gang.
It was gathered that Roseline, who works as a maid for one Mrs. Ada Anna Godwin, was assaulted by the unknown gang that stormed the residence around 2 AM, and forcefully broke down the door to gain entry.
According to reports, Roseline was already asleep when the attackers invaded the apartment and when they questioned her about her employer’s whereabouts, she informed them that Mrs. Anna Godwin had not slept at home that night. The gang then descended on her, beating and injuring her before fleeing the scene.
Nearby neighbours recounted that some of the assailants were heard saying, specifically that “If Mrs. Anna Godwin does not accept her calling to be a chief priestess or appease the gods, she will not have peace.”
This statement however suggests that the attack may have been linked to an unresolved spiritual or traditional dispute.
Other neighbours also noted that some of the attackers spoke in an Igbo dialect, indicating that they might have originated from the Eastern part of the country.
Meanwhile, there has been an unresolved issue between Mrs. Ada Anna Godwin and her kinsmen in Avuvu village in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State.
She was said to have married to one Godwin Ulelu who is from Umuezegu Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa Local Government Area of Abia State. But when her husband, Godwin Ulelu died in January, 2004, her late husband’s younger brother and other family members frustrated her, such that she ran away from the village and return to her village in Avuvu.
Unfortunately for her, according to sources, running to her village was like running from frypan to fire.
It was gathered that her kinsmen told her sometimes in 2021, that she has been chosen to become the chief priestess of the village shrine called Njoku, and this is because she is the eldest person in the chosen family to serve Njoku.
Mrs Ada Anna Godwin was said to have rejected the offer on the ground that she’s a devoted Christian. It was gathered that following her rejection of the offer, her kinsmen mandated her to undergo a cleansing ritual to appease the gods as the culture demands for anybody that rejected the offer.
Source said the development prompted her to run away from the village but members of the village have been looking for her to forcefully subject her to the cleansing ritual or accept the chief priestess offer.
As of the time of this report, no official statement from the security operatives regarding the violent attack on Roseline, and it remains unclear whether any arrests have been made.
