The people of Issele-Uku, the administrative headquarters of Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, have resorted to traditional spiritual warfare against kidnappers and other criminal actors terrorizing their once peaceful community.
Over the weekend, the entire Issele-Uku Kingdom erupted in a powerful traditional cleansing ritual known as Ine Ubi, a ceremony aimed at spiritually purging the land and laying irreversible ancestral curses on those behind the surge of kidnappings, armed robbery, and other nefarious acts.
The royal palace of Issele-Uku became a scene of intense spiritual action as representatives from the nine villages that make up the kingdom; Ukpai, Idumuinei, Ogbe-Ofu, Ogbeowele, Ogboli, Idumuahaba, Ute, Ogbe-Utu, and Umueze-Issei, marched in solemn unity, armed not with weapons but with palm sticks, Bibles, and chaplets. Their mission: to invoke divine justice and lay generational curses on all those disrupting the peace of Issele-Uku with evil plots and criminal enterprise.
Inside the palace, following a closed-door meeting with chiefs, the Omu, Eze-Dibie, and other titled elders, the highly revered monarch of Issele-Uku Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Agbogidi Obi Nduka, addressed the massive crowd at the Ishu Uge, the palace courtyard. In a firm yet mournful tone, he explained the gravity of the ritual, describing it as a last resort in the face of rising insecurity.
“This Ine Ubi ceremony has become inevitable,” the monarch declared. “It is a sacred spiritual act passed down by our forefathers, invoked only when evil threatens to consume our people. Issele-Uku is known for peace and hospitality. We are not a land of violence, and we reject these criminal invasions with every fiber of our cultural heritage.”
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As the Chi-Obi of Issele-Uku Kingdom, Chief Egbo Adigwe, publicly listed the various atrocities committed; kidnapping, theft, spiritual poisoning, and robbery, the crowd responded by striking the ground and chanting curses, invoking the wrath of the gods and the ancestors upon the perpetrators and their enablers. The ritual was performed at three symbolic spots within the palace, before continuing towards the Afor market, led by Diokpa Isimchei Okonkwo, the Ogbelani of Issele-Uku.
Obi Nduka, speaking with journalists afterward, expressed deep concern over the spike in abductions and crime, which he said has instilled fear in a town once known as a safe haven for visitors and locals alike. He emphasized that while government efforts are ongoing, community action remains crucial.
“We have not been abandoned by the government, but the spate of insecurity demands more proactive response. Security is the core responsibility of the state, and it must be treated with utmost urgency. This traditional cleansing is our own way of contributing to the fight,” he stated.
Obi Nduka issued a stern warning: “Anyone involved in these acts of evil, or supporting them in any way, should prepare for the wrath of both man and spirit. The consequences will be devastating and inescapable. This is not just a ceremony, it is a declaration. We will not surrender our land to criminals.”
The Ine Ubi ritual marks a significant turning point in the fight against crime in Delta State, sending a clear message that the people of Issele-Uku will defend their land not just with the law, but with the full force of tradition, unity, and ancestral justice.
