Tragedy struck in the Obiagu area of Enugu metropolis on Thursday as a 23-year-old man, identified as Chiemelie Nnaji, drowned during a spiritual cleansing exercise conducted by his mother at a river in the area.

The deceased, popularly known for roasting pork and chicken in front of a motel in the neighbourhood, was said to be epileptic. He met his untimely death during a ritual cleansing session at a river known as Mmiri Ani, under the supervision of his mother, a self-acclaimed spiritualist known within the community as Ezenwanyi.

Sources revealed that Ezenwanyi had taken Chiemelie and a middle-aged female client to the river for a spiritual exercise. According to eyewitnesses, she was in the process of conducting the cleansing ritual using a native fowl when her son suffered a seizure and slipped into the chest-deep river.

Rather than offering assistance, Ezenwanyi, who appeared to be deep in a trance and chanting incantations, reportedly ignored her client’s pleas to help the drowning man.

It was gathered that the female client eventually halted the ritual and raised an alarm, drawing the attention of residents in the area. Responding quickly, some members of the community rushed to the scene, rescued Chiemelie from the river, and rushed him to a nearby hospital.

A source who was part of the rescue said, “When we got to the river, we met Ezenwanyi chanting incantations while the other woman was crying helplessly. But we managed to bring him out and took him to the hospital.”

The situation, however, worsened as two hospitals reportedly refused to admit him before he was finally taken to a third facility where he was pronounced dead.

Following the incident, operatives of the Enugu State Police Command from the Ogui Division were said to have arrested Ezenwanyi.

As of the time of filing this report, the police spokesperson in the state, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, was yet to respond to inquiries regarding the incident.