Witch Hunt in Zamfara: Free Samaila Bala

Published on behalf of Leo Igwe, Director of Advocacy for Alleged Witches.

Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW) urges the Zamfara State (Nigeria) government to release and compensate Mr Samaila Bala. Mr Bala has been accused and jailed by the Upper Sharia Court in Tsafe for ‘witchcraft and juju’, an ‘offence’ that has no basis in law, since June 2026. Sources in Zamfara told AfAW that Bala’s case has been ongoing since 2020. This is the third time that Bala has been imprisoned for the alleged offence. 

In 2020, Mr Bala was a teacher at a local school when a female student fell ill and, during her illness, mentioned his name. The student was taken to a hospital, and after some blood tests, she was found to be a sickle cell patient. But the parents and other relatives attributed the ailment to witchcraft and claimed that the teacher, Bala, was responsible. They filed a charge at the local sharia court, and Bala was remanded for six months before being released. In 2024, he was jailed again, but after two months the Grand Khadi, head of Nigeria’s Sharia Court of Appeal, granted him a pardon, and he was released. In June this year, he was again arrested and remanded and remains in prison.

An AfAW contact in Gusau has visited Bala in prison and got details of his case and incarceration. More prison visits have been scheduled in the coming weeks and months. AfAW will provide legal and humanitarian support to Mr Bala. Local and international efforts will be made to free Bala. 

Meanwhile a legal expert in the region has been consulted, and she said this regarding the said offence:

Actually, our laws do not recognise the offences of juju or witchcraft. In the North, where the penal code applies, fraudulent use of charms, obtaining money by false presence, public nuisance, causing harm, etc., are framed by the police in some instances. But witchcraft is not recognised as a crime. The VAPP LAW actually criminalises witchcraft accusations. And since the law does not recognise the offence, the remand has no legal basis under the administration of criminal justice law, as one cannot be remanded for a non-existent offence. 

However, under Sharia penal law, even though there’s no offence of witchcraft, the courts sometimes charge people under broader provisions like sihr (sorcery), which some interpret as an offence against public order, disturbance of peace, or fraud if money was collected, etc. The bottom line is that the person cannot be validly charged or held for witchcraft/juju alone. The police must prove actual statutory offence(s). The best line of action is to engage the services of a good lawyer for the victim to file a preliminary objection. And then seek the DPP’s intervention to take over and discontinue if no offence is found.

AfAW plans to engage a lawyer to file a preliminary objection. Meanwhile, other options are actively being pursued to secure Bala’s release. Zamfara State authorities should understand that remanding Bala for the offence of ‘witchcraft and juju’ is a judicial embarrassment in the 21st century. His incarceration ridicules the legal system and makes a mockery of the rule of law. The Sharia Penal Code Law of Zamfara State, Section 406, primarily addresses offences tied to prohibited traditional religious practices, specifically the unlawful invocation or worship of ‘juju’. Section 406(d) states:

Whoever presides at or is present at or takes part in the worship or invocation of any juju which has been declared unlawful under the provisions of Section 405 will be punished with death.

Bala did not commit any offence under this section. 

Advocacy for Alleged Witches believes that Mr Bala is innocent and a victim of a state/Sharia based witch hunt. AfAW calls on the Zamfara State Government to:

Free Samaila Bala. 

Drop the charge of ‘witchcraft and juju’ against him. 

Stop the persecution and prosecution for non-existent offences. 

Release and compensate him NOW.

And end witch hunts in Zamfara State once and for all.

Find out more and support Advocacy for Alleged Witches here.