Muslims who killed a 70-year-old Catholic woman in Nigeria on March 2 were motivated by a traditional healer’s falsehood that she had used witchcraft on the wife of one of the assailants, sources said.

The four Muslims ambushed Talatu Joshua as she made her way home from a church service at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Kirfi County, Bauchi state, according to state police. Family and church members said the church was located in the county’s Kurba village.

Bauchi police learned the assailants’ motives after detaining the suspects on March 8, the spokesman told the Nigerian Tribune. Two days before the March 2 attack, on Feb. 28, one of the suspects, Jamilu Usman, had sought counsel from a traditional healer regarding his wife’s illness and was told that Joshua of Jinga village was responsible for it, the spokesman said.

“Later that day, Jamilu Usman orchestrated a confrontation with Talatu, accompanied by Ismail Usman, Ali Isah and Rilwanu Usman,” the spokesman reportedly said. “During his encounter, they accused her of witchcraft and issued threats regarding her life during the upcoming Sallah procession [for Islamic holidays]. The confrontation escalated, resulting in the suspects striking Talatu Joshua on the head with a stick, causing her to lose consciousness” and ultimately leading to the fatal attack on March 2.

Ahmed Wakil, chief superintendent of police (CSP) of the Bauchi State Police Command, identified the suspects arrested for the March 2 attack as Rilwanu Usman, Ali Isa, Ila Alhaji Marafa and Jamilu Malam Usman.

“They ambushed the elderly woman on March 2, inflicting multiple injuries, including a severe wound beneath her left ear,” Wakil said.

Yohanna Haruna, son of the deceased woman, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that his son told him about the attack the day it happened.

“I rushed to the place where she was attacked and found that she had died and her corpse abandoned by her attackers,” Haruna said. “I reported the incident at the local police station in Kirfi town, and they said they would be investigating the incident. Having informed the police, I took my mother’s body home for burial.”

Kefas Dennis, a catechist and associate minister at St. Benedict Catholic Church, confirmed Joshua was a member of his church.

“We conducted funeral mass for her and buried her,” Dennis said. “I’m burdened in my heart as to why this woman was callously killed by these Muslims for no justification.”

Attorneys from the legal of Ada-Light Kwaltings, Samuel & Partners said the Muslim suspects used sticks, knives and cutlasses to inflict fatal injuries on Joshua before bystanders could intervene.

Nigeria ranked seventh on the 2025 WWL list of the 50 worst countries for Christians.