A popular native doctor from Nnewi, Anambra State, known as Aka Mmuo Mmiri, has publicly apologised to the state government led by Governor Chukwuma Soludo after his arrest by operatives of Agunechemba, Anambra’s state security outfit, for alleged illegal ritual practices carried out in the state’s natural waters.

The native doctor, also known as “Aka Mmuo Mmiri Afulu Anya” or De Young Chief Priest, was arrested on Thursday and paraded by security operatives in a dramatic sequence of events that has since gone viral on social media.

In what has become one of the most talked-about moments from the incident, Agunechemba operatives took the native doctor to his water shrine — a river location where he reportedly performed rituals and claimed to invoke spirits, including a crocodile.

Upon arrival at the shrine, the native doctor was reportedly given time to summon the crocodile spirit he claimed to control. However, the creature failed to appear, casting serious doubt on his alleged spiritual powers. The operatives subsequently continued to search his residence.

Videos of the arrest, the failed demonstration at the river, and the native doctor’s subsequent public apology have circulated widely across social media platforms, drawing reactions ranging from mockery to serious debate about the regulation of traditional practices in the state.

In a widely circulated video statement recorded after his arrest, Aka Mmuo Mmiri addressed the Anambra State Government directly.

“I am apologising to the Anambra State Government, led by Governor Chukwuma Soludo. I will not make the mistake of performing unusual sacrifices in the Anambra State natural waters again,” he said.

The arrest is part of an ongoing and intensifying crackdown by the Soludo administration targeting native doctors and traditional practitioners accused of engaging in criminal activities under the guise of spiritual practice.

Governor Soludo had in April 2025 publicly warned native doctors to stop polluting Anambra’s rivers and streams with ritual practices, emphasising that many communities depend on these waters for drinking and domestic use, and that such contamination poses a direct threat to public health.

The Anambra government has been running a combined security and moral reorientation campaign against native doctors accused of aiding kidnappers, armed robbers, and internet fraudsters through the preparation of charms, money rituals, and other criminal activities. However, the government has repeatedly insisted that the crackdown is not a blanket attack on genuine traditional worship but specifically targets criminal practices carried out under the guise of tradition.

The Aka Mmuo Mmiri incident follows a pattern that has become familiar in Anambra State under the Soludo administration. Suspects are arrested by Agunechemba operatives, taken back to their shrines — often located near rivers or water bodies — and asked to demonstrate their alleged powers. When the demonstrations fail, the suspects are paraded and required to make public statements denouncing criminal ritual practices.

In some cases, courts have ordered the demolition of shrines and directed convicted native doctors to serve as ambassadors for youth reorientation programmes.

Agunechemba, a state-recognised security outfit, has been at the forefront of the crackdown. The outfit has been actively involved in tracking down and arresting native doctors suspected of aiding crime across Anambra State.

In a notable earlier case, Agunechemba arrested controversial native doctor Chigozie Nwangwu, popularly known as Akwa Okuku, in 2025 on allegations of aiding kidnapping and money rituals. That case led to his conviction and imprisonment under the Criminal Code and the Anambra Homeland Security Law.

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