Witchcraft accusations in Tiv communities of Benue State remain one of the most brutal, state-tolerated forms of communal aggression against elderly citizens in contemporary Nigeria. This study investigates the persistence and transformation of witchcraft accusations in Tiv death rituals, demonstrating a resilient cultural practice that continues to violate human rights despite Christianization, legal reforms, and digital modernity. Using a mixed-method approach combining doctrinal-legal analysis, 28 ethnographic sources, institutional reports, seven purposively sampled case studies (2020–2024), 20 semi-structured key informant interviews with elders, oracle consultants, women leaders, and community members, and two focus group discussions (n=24).

Qualitative data were thematically analyzed using NVivo 14; quantitative indicators triangulated with Nigeria Watch; spatial clustering confirmed via Quantum Geographic Information System (Moran’s I = 0.67, p