The 13-year old boy whose hands were burnt by his stepmother has narrated what really happened between them that led to the horrible incident.
According to Ovey Friday, trouble started for him after his stepmother, Mercy Jumai, whom he lives with accused him of being a wizard.
Mercy also accused Ovey of sleeping with her in her dream.
Speaking in an interview with Northern City News on his hospital bed at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, Ovey said, “My stepmother said she was always seeing me making love to her in her dream, but I told her that it was not true.
“So, she started threatening me, saying that I would not stay in the same house with her. That was when she said she would take me to a native doctor’s house.
“The native doctor, who is a Fulani man, picked a stone and threw it at me. After that, he rubbed the stone on me and tied my two hands with a rope.
“Then, he brought charcoals out of the fire and poured it on me and tied my hands, asking me to confess that I was a wizard and a member of a secret society. But I told him that I was innocent of what he was accusing me of.
“He brought out powdered pepper and poured it into the fire while the smoke smeared all over my face, with my hands burning. After that, he fetched charcoals from fire (he did this three times), that was when I began to pray to God. When he saw that I was praying, he came back and untied the rope from my hands, but my wrists, palms and fingers were already badly burnt. They brought me home and the next day, I woke up to see that both my hands had swollen. It was at that time that they took me to hospital for treatment
Ovey, who is fondly called ‘Small Man’ by members of the Wulko community, said, “I have forgiven my tormentors.”
