Battling evildoers

last updated 8 January 2015

Niamey, Niger

Mayor Jules Oguet this week ordered “qualified” sorcerers to exorcise evil spirits said to be plaguing Niger’s capital city at night. Oguet said citizens had been complaining for three weeks “of strange apparitions stalking people, notably young women.” Local Muslim leaders dismissed the supernatural explanation and attributed the nocturnal harassment to con men trying to extract money from a frightened population. But the mayor called for “the traditional sacrifices” necessary to rid his city of its curse. “If there are any evil spirits,” he said, “they will be dealt with.”