A young woman, Okafor Gloria Eseosa, has gone into hiding after her influential uncle, a powerful politician in Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), allegedly used his political weight and nationwide connections to pursue her over accusations linked to her cousin’s suicide.

According to an information confirmed by her aunt, Mrs. Wilson Grace, Gloria became the target of a deadly campaign after the death of her cousin, Oronsaye Aisosa Sailas, on September 19, 2020.
Before taking his life, Sailas reportedly left a note admitting he had lost borrowed money to gambling and feared violent reprisals from those he owed.

However, despite this clear account, the boy’s father, Mr. Oronsaye Anthony, an APC political figure with strong backing and influence across multiple states, rejected the suicide explanation and instead accused his sister, Mrs. Okafor Veronica, of witchcraft.

Using his political leverage and deep connections within security circles, traditional institutions, and party networks nationwide, Anthony allegedly ensured that Veronica was banished from their community. She was stripped of her property and repeatedly rejected from neighbouring villages, as local elders reportedly acted on Anthony’s directives out of fear or loyalty.

The ordeal took a darker turn when, according to a source who pleaded anonymous, influential members of the family inner circle insisted that Veronica could only be forgiven if she surrendered her first daughter, Gloria, to be killed as revenge for the boy’s death.

The anonymous added that, Oronsaye Anthony openly declared that, as long as Gloria is still alive in Nigeria, no matter where she’s currently hiding, she will be fish out and deal with accordingly, “no escape for witchcraft.”

Mrs. Wilson said the threats intensified because Anthony’s political status made him “untouchable,” and his men were capable of tracking Gloria anywhere in the country. His nationwide contacts, she added, left the young woman with no safe place to hide.

“Gloria had no choice but to flee,” Mrs. Wilson said. “Her uncle is a powerful APC politician. He has people everywhere. The threats were real, and she could have been killed.”

Fearing she could be found and harmed due to her uncle’s far-reaching influence, because no one knows about her whereabouts.