Yesterday I posted about Leo Igwe, contributor to Culture Kitchen, being attacked and beaten on July 30th because he was standing up to religious fanatics in Nigeria who were abusing children. I will reiterated and expand upon the details below. But first, I have now heard from Leo by email and he seems to be doing fine and still eager to fight the good fight. Here is his message:

Thanks for your message and concern As you may know both islamic and christian fanatics are holding Nigeria hostage You must have heard what is happening in Northern Nigeria where islamists have been battling with the police and the army for control in a region where an islamic dark age is already in place The situation makes me sad and to put it literally it makes me angry And my simple ambition is to create and to keep organizing fora where these dark age ideas and their influence can be challenged, debated, discussed and criticized.

Any help I can get to realize this objective will be greatly appreciated

In the spirit of helping out Leo in his ambition to fight these dark age ideas and their influence, I want to go into some detail about the particular battle that led to his being attacked by a mob. The basic outline from AllAfrica.com:

Helen Ukpabio's campaign of terror against children and those committed to fighting for their rights took a new turn last week when a large group of her supporters raided a child rights conference in Calabar and attacked a number of the delegates. The conference, which was on the theme of "Child Rights and Witchcraft", had been organised by the Nigerian Humanist Movement and the UK charity Stepping Stones Nigeria in response to the widespread abandonment, torture and killing of children in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States due to the

belief in child 'witches'. As the day began, at around 10.30 am, a group of religious extremists dressed in orange raided the venue and began protesting loudly.

The extremists, who are believed to be members of Helen Ukpabio's Church, Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries, were carrying a number of banners with slogans such as, "We give freedom to the witches" and "Stepping Stone is not a registered organisation". Eventually, after an hour and a half, the police turned up and dispersed the mob. One person was arrested.

The conference co-ordinator Leo Igwe, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Humanist Movement, was viciously beaten during the attack and had his phone and camera stolen by the angry mob. Speaking after the event Leo said: "The conference was a peaceful meeting for people to openly debate what could be done to prevent the abuse of child rights linked to the belief in witchcraft. This attack by Helen Ukpabio's supporters once again highlights the depravity of this so-called "woman of God". Such false prophets should be immediately arrested and prosecuted under the child rights Act".

And further background from The Guardian:

Evangelical pastors are helping to create a terrible new campaign of violence against young Nigerians. Children and babies branded as evil are being abused, abandoned and even murdered while the preachers make money out of the fear of their parents and their communities

In a maddened state of terror, parents and whole villages turn on the child. They are burnt, poisoned, slashed, chained to trees, buried alive or simply beaten and chased off into the bush.

Some parents scrape together sums needed to pay for a deliverance - sometimes as much as three or four months' salary for the average working man - although the pastor will explain that the witch might return and a second deliverance will be needed. Even if the parent wants to keep the child, their neighbours may attack it in the street.

This is not just a few cases. This is becoming commonplace. In Esit Eket, up a nameless, puddled-and-potholed path is a concrete shack stuffed to its fetid rafters with roughly made bunk beds. Here, three to a bed like battery chickens, sleep victims of the besuited Christian pastors and their hours-long, late-night services. Ostracised and abandoned, these are the children a whole community believes fervently are witches.

Far more details in the Guardian article of systematic child abuse justified by a mix of African and Christian superstitions. This kind of abuse is ignored both by Nigerian and Christian leaders. Very few people are standing up for these children. Leo is one of them. This comes from one of his most recent posts on Culture Kitchen:

Campaign of Terror unleashed on Nigeria’s ‘Witch Children’

Coalition of civil society organisations and churches condemn the recent violence against children and local NGO staff members

A coalition of Nigerian and International civil society organisations and churches have strongly condemned the recent campaign of terror that has been inflicted upon the so-called ‘child witches’ at the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network Centre (CRARN) in Eket, Akwa Ibom State by Lagos-based police officers. The work of CRARN, and the children they care for, was shown on Channel 4’s Dispatches Programme on ‘Saving Africa’s Witch Children’ in November 2008.

On Friday 3rd July 2009, in the afternoon local time, a group of men appeared at the CRARN Centre claiming to be donors who wanted to donate goods and toys to the children. Shortly after, the men identified themselves as police officers, and unlawfully arrested two CRARN staff members and mercilessly beat many of the children whilst searching for CRARN’s Founder and President, Sam Itauma.

Two young girls aged 11 and 12 years old were beaten unconscious and are currently receiving treatment in a local hospital. Five other children suffered injuries at the hands of these men, who then left a round of bullets in Sam Itauma’s bedroom, presumably to act as a warning that his life is in danger.

Gary Foxcroft, Programme Director of the UK-based NGO Stepping Stones Nigeria, and partner of CRARN, said: “We condemn the actions of the police in the strongest possible terms and call for the Akwa Ibom State Government to ensure the safety of all CRARN staff and children. The beatings of these innocent children further highlight the depravity of these so-called men and women of God who label and abuse children as witches. However, we will not be intimidated in our fight to protect the rights of vulnerable children and ensure that children are no longer labeled as witches. We know that the truth is on our side”.

Stepping Stones Nigeria believe that this campaign of terror is a direct response to Channel 4’s Dispatches Programme, ‘Saving Africa’s Witch Children’, which highlighted the role that Mrs Helen Ukpabio, self-proclaimed pastor, evangelist and founder of the Liberty Gospel Foundation Church in Nigeria, and her film production company, Liberty Films, have played in spreading the myth of child witchcraft.

Helen Ukpabio has recently filed legal complaints against Sam Itauma and CRARN at the Special Fraud Unit at the Ikoyi station in Lagos for “fraudulent activities and threat to life”, charges which the coalition argues are clearly fabricated in order to threaten and intimidate. The police officers that carried out these brutal attacks were accompanied by Mr Victor Ukott, the Lagos based lawyer who is representing Helen Ukpabio. Staff at CRARN, Stepping Stones Nigeria and Stepping Stones Nigeria Child Empowerment Foundation have also recently received numerous threatening phone calls, which would appear to be linked to this campaign of terror. CRARN staff have also been threatened by persons regarding the upcoming court case of “Bishop” Sunday Ulup-Aya, who was featured on Channel 4’s Dispatches programme bragging that he had killed “up to 110 witches”.

...

The coalition urgently calls on the Akwa Ibom State Government to:

• Arrest and prosecute the police officers who unlawfully arrested and detained CRARN staff members and beat and injured innocent children;

• Award their full protection to Sam Itauma, other CRARN staff members and the children to ensure their full safety now and in the future;

• Carry out in-depth investigations into the activities of Mrs Helen Ukpabio and the Liberty Gospel Foundation Church, prosecute anyone found to be labelling children as witches and close any church found to be labelling children as ‘witches’ through deliverance or other methods.

• Support the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the false legal charges that are being levelled against Sam Itauma and CRARN staff.

Notes to Editors:

1. Coalition members include: Stepping Stones Nigeria, Stepping Stones Nigeria Child Empowerment Foundation, Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network Centre, Consortium for Street Children, Nigerian Humanist Movement, StreetInvest, Mboho Akwa Ibom Association (UK & Ireland), Ibom People’s Forum, Ibibio Nation, Eket Development Congress USA, The Covenant of Grace Ministries, International Christian Ambassadors of God (ICAG) and Grace Chapel, London.

2. Saving Africa’s Witch Children’ Dispatches Programme was aired on Channel 4 in November 2008. The documentary graphically details how the belief in witchcraft leads to the widespread abandonment, torture, trafficking and killing of children in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The documentary has since won a prestigious BAFTA award and Amnesty International’s Media Award in the UK

3. Following the airing of the Dispatched documentary, The Akwa Ibom State enacted the Child Rights Act making it illegal to brand a child a witch. On its website the Akwa Ibom State Government states that it “will not fold its hands and watch evil elements of society dehumanise, demoralise, bastardise, displace, stigmatise, or persecute our children for personal gains.” The Government then states how it will:

• Place full legislative machinery against labelling of children as witches

• Advance high powered investigation into every element of the issues involved and all allegations against persons involved in stigmatisation of children as witches

• Prosecute all persons found culpable of this crime of child labelling

• Deploy social resources for the support, comfort and enjoyment of all categories of children all over the state

• Possibility of closure of every organisation involved in this evil stigmatisation of children

• Government will not spare any culprit involved.

For more information please go to: http://www.aksgonline.com/issue_child_abuse.aspx

4. For more information about the work of Stepping Stones Nigeria, CRARN and the issue of child witchcraft please visit http://www.steppingstonesnigeria.org.

5. For more information about this press release please contact Gary Foxcroft, Programme Director, Stepping Stones Nigeria on gary@steppingstonesnigeria.org or 0845 313 8391.

On Culture Kitchen we actually have one of these "Christians" defending Helen Ukpabio's activities so graphically described in the Guardian article and AllAfrica.com articles above. Here is an example of one of the comments from Helen Ukpabio's followers:

People like you should be arrested and prosecuted by relevant authorities for selling out Nigeria for a plate of potage. How can you claim the police beat up those little children, this is incredible!! Nigerian police beat up poor children? you should be arrested by the IGP. The truth is that you guys are jobless people under the illegal employ of Godswill Akpabio, you will soon be brought to book. Godswill should come open and stop this hide and seek game or playing from behind, let him show his moral, like the way he did when he stole the mandate of the Akwa Ibom people. Nigeria is a lwaful nation. STOP SHOWING THIS NATION AS A LAWLESS NATION!!

And this:

Excuse me, you don't seem to get it. Let's go down to the very basics. Who is the actual child hater and abuser here? is it Helen Ukpabio who for the past 16years of her church activities has had and in some cases even taken in and sponsor some children or Leo Igwe, Sam Itauma, and Godswill Akpabio who illegally using government's covers founded and funded 'the supposedly child home and bring them under torture and all negative device?

I want us to reason together, you dont even know any about Helen's activities here in Nigeria. Again when i write you i include my name and country but ýou don't.

Edem
Nigeria

Let me refer to the Guardian again to show just what this person is defending. I can't embed it, but here is a link to video footage from The Guardian about this issue.

I also refer you to this vide from CRARN, which I can embed:

And this person, Edem, from Nigeria, wrote the comments above defending Helen Ukpabio AFTER Leo was attacked and beaten by a mob some 200 of her followers. Even though I brought it up, Edem doesn't address the fact that this attack took place.

So I urge people to contact the Nigerian embassy to express your opinion on this issue.

I also urge you to read more on this issue at Stepping Stones' website, and help them if you can.

And visit the CRARN website to find out more, and help them if you can.

If nothing else comes of the attack on Leo, I at least am taking inspiration to spread the word on this issue.