GettyA Nigerian healer has died from being shot, after claiming a charm made him bulletproof.
26-year-old Chinaka Adoezuwe asked one of his clients to shoot him with a gun while he wore the charms in question, as a way of proving their protective powers.
However, tragedy struck and Adoezuwe was killed from the bullets which entered his body. The client has since been arrested by police on suspicion of murder and is being held in custody.
The fatal incident occurred in Nigeria’s south-eastern Imo state. The client reportedly initially refused to shoot Adoezuwe, but was eventually persuaded.
ResearchGateUmuozu Ugir resident Kingsley Ugochukwu told the Punch newspaper:
A young man had gone to a native doctor to prepare bullet-proof charms for him, which the native doctor did.
After preparing it, the native doctor asked his customer to position himself very well so that he could test the efficacy or otherwise of the charms, but his customer refused.
But to prove the efficacy of the new charms, the native doctor positioned and handed over a gun to his customer to test-run the charm.
Tragedy struck and the bullets penetrated Adoezuwe, resulting in his death.
Police Public Relations Officer, Andrew Enwerem, confirmed the death and subsequent arrest:
The suspect is in our custody. It is a case of murder. The Isiala Mbano division of the Command has moved in, arrested the suspect and returned normalcy to the area.
The case will be transferred to the State Criminal and Investigation Department in Owerri for thorough investigation.
WikimediaAccording to the BBC, such protective charms are popular in Nigeria and this is sadly not the only instance of a person being killed in this manner.
Back in January 2018, 27-year-old Aliyu Yahuza from Katsina State, Usman Saidu died after being shot in the chest with a dane gun, which had been fired to prove the reliability of ‘bullet-repelling’ liquid.
Yahuza apparently believed drinking the liquid would protect him from the impact of the bullets.
Find out more about the dangers of using guns irresponsibly below:
Back in March 2018, a man at a party in Houston, Texas died after asking his friend, Jason Griffin, to shoot him while he wore a bulletproof vest.
Sadly, the vest failed to offer protection and he was dead by the time police officers arrived. Griffin has since been charged with manslaughter.
According to ABC, HPD Homicide Sgt. Mark Holbrook said:
It is unusual that people would put on bulletproof vest and play with guns at a party, but these things happen sometimes.
Griffin’s girlfriend Mary Warstler said:
He went there to sell his friend a flak jacket. It’s so bad because he didn’t know the gun was loaded.
He even asked, ‘Brother, do you want me to cinch that up for you,’ but they were playing this stupid game going around.
He said ‘shoot me,’ and he [Griffin] didn’t think there was anything in it, and he did. He tried to take the vest off and save him
Fox26If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.