Stop killing of children in Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria
We, the concerned Nigerians of Akwa-Ibom State origin (South- South Nigeria) in Diaspora, as well as fellow Nigerian citizens seize this opportunity to appeal to your office for immediate intervention to save the severely abused, displaced, children of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, and the lives of the people who have worked tirelessly to advocate for their safety – Sam Itauma and Gary Foxcroft. We also seek your intervention for the safety of the social workers and volunteer staff members who provide care, medical aid, education, and a protective environment for the abused children.
Read more:
http://humanrights.change.org/petitions/view/stop_the_killing_of_children_in_akwa_ibom_state_in_nigeria
Thanks for your anticipated co-operation!
YHN
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Akwa-Ibom State Commission of Inquiry into Witchcraft Accusations and Child Rights Abuses: Our Position
For Immediate Release
Akwa-Ibom State Commission of Inquiry into Witchcraft Accusations and Child Rights Abuses: A Call for Inclusion of Child Psychologist, Human Rights Activist and Commission's Neutrality and Fairness
Our organisation, Young Humanistas Network, also known as YHN, has been involved in addressing child-witch menace in Akwa-Ibom and Edo both south-south Nigeria (and recently in researching into the situation in Nasarawa state) in the last twenty-three (23) months. During this period, we have been able to organise town-hall meetings, meetings with pastors, paid courtesy visits and organise road rallies to highlight the precarious state of child rights in the areas and explored, with the beneficiaries, how best to redress the situation; we even went as far as donating a sick-bay (health center) in one of the interventions. In all of these, we have been supported by the Humanist Action for Human Rights, Norway (HAMU) and Stepping Stones Nigeria, UK (for the pastors' parleys and book production).
While we can beat our chests to say that we have made appreciable impact on all fronts (rescuing, psycho-social supports, prosecution and re-unification), we shall be untruthful to say that we have not been faced with challenges.The challenges we have encountered in Akwa-Ibom has, however, been more gangantuan and disturbing than we envisaged; our staff have been harrassed, our partners' have been frustrated and key officers have been variously haunted by the foot-soldiers of the governor and some highly placed religious leaders. Unnecessary allegations have also been made against us on international and national media such as the CNN, AIT and even the local newspapers, but the joy has always been that WE ARE NOT DISSUADED!
After so many months of mis-information which has culminated in highbrow raising decisions, Governor Akpabio's constitution of a panel of inquiry on 23 November, 2010, we are bold to admit, is a welcome decision; not because of the committee's terms of reference but for the supposedly sincerity of members of the committee.
The committee, by the way, was given the mandate to, among others,
a. determine the veracity of the allegations of witchcraft against children and infliction of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment upon such children.
b. It is also to determine the number of those stigmatized, abused or killed on suspicion of involvement in witchcraft; those culpable; identify the shallow graves and the particulars of children affected under paragraph 5 (e) and also identify those who maltreated, stigmatized or caused their deaths and make appropriate recommendations.
The Commission is chaired by a Judge with over 23 years on the bench, Honourable Justice Abraham and Barrister (Mrs.) Theresa Obot, Dr Okon Edet Akaiso, Dr. Essien Edward Essien, Rt. Rev. John Koko-Bassey and a Chief State Counsel, Barrister Mrs. Uduak Victor Ekwere as members.
Ordinarily, one should be happy of this, though late yet, vital government intervention. Unfortunately, however, the tasks set before the committee and the timeframe (six weeks), non-inclusion of a child-psychologist and seasoned rights activist leave much to be desired.
We therefore call on the government of Akwa-Ibom to:
1. As a matter of URGENCY extend the time-frame of the commission by FOUR WEEKS if truly the Governor wants to unravel the mistery behind the stigma Akwa-Ibom children have been subjected to
2. include a capable child psychologist and a respected human rights activist in the commission to ensure that the members are adequately advised in the screening of gathered child-related information and that the pulse of the populace on the menace is sumptuously felt; and
3. Ensure that the commission, as promised, by His Excellency Governor Akpabio, remain apolitical and futuristic.
On our part, we are ready, as CONCERNED CITIZENS of Nigeria, STAKEHOLDERS and professionals, to partake in the public hearing BUT we shall be happier if the above concerns are taken care of.
Above all, we want to thank His Excellency, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, for this initiative and his untiring efforts to free Akwa-Ibom state children.
Akwa-Ibom Children ADO OK! They are NOT WITCHES!!!
Onward!
'Yemi Ademowo Johnson
For YHN
Akwa-Ibom State Commission of Inquiry into Witchcraft Accusations and Child Rights Abuses: A Call for Inclusion of Child Psychologist, Human Rights Activist and Commission's Neutrality and Fairness
Our organisation, Young Humanistas Network, also known as YHN, has been involved in addressing child-witch menace in Akwa-Ibom and Edo both south-south Nigeria (and recently in researching into the situation in Nasarawa state) in the last twenty-three (23) months. During this period, we have been able to organise town-hall meetings, meetings with pastors, paid courtesy visits and organise road rallies to highlight the precarious state of child rights in the areas and explored, with the beneficiaries, how best to redress the situation; we even went as far as donating a sick-bay (health center) in one of the interventions. In all of these, we have been supported by the Humanist Action for Human Rights, Norway (HAMU) and Stepping Stones Nigeria, UK (for the pastors' parleys and book production).
While we can beat our chests to say that we have made appreciable impact on all fronts (rescuing, psycho-social supports, prosecution and re-unification), we shall be untruthful to say that we have not been faced with challenges.The challenges we have encountered in Akwa-Ibom has, however, been more gangantuan and disturbing than we envisaged; our staff have been harrassed, our partners' have been frustrated and key officers have been variously haunted by the foot-soldiers of the governor and some highly placed religious leaders. Unnecessary allegations have also been made against us on international and national media such as the CNN, AIT and even the local newspapers, but the joy has always been that WE ARE NOT DISSUADED!
After so many months of mis-information which has culminated in highbrow raising decisions, Governor Akpabio's constitution of a panel of inquiry on 23 November, 2010, we are bold to admit, is a welcome decision; not because of the committee's terms of reference but for the supposedly sincerity of members of the committee.
The committee, by the way, was given the mandate to, among others,
a. determine the veracity of the allegations of witchcraft against children and infliction of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment upon such children.
b. It is also to determine the number of those stigmatized, abused or killed on suspicion of involvement in witchcraft; those culpable; identify the shallow graves and the particulars of children affected under paragraph 5 (e) and also identify those who maltreated, stigmatized or caused their deaths and make appropriate recommendations.
The Commission is chaired by a Judge with over 23 years on the bench, Honourable Justice Abraham and Barrister (Mrs.) Theresa Obot, Dr Okon Edet Akaiso, Dr. Essien Edward Essien, Rt. Rev. John Koko-Bassey and a Chief State Counsel, Barrister Mrs. Uduak Victor Ekwere as members.
Ordinarily, one should be happy of this, though late yet, vital government intervention. Unfortunately, however, the tasks set before the committee and the timeframe (six weeks), non-inclusion of a child-psychologist and seasoned rights activist leave much to be desired.
We therefore call on the government of Akwa-Ibom to:
1. As a matter of URGENCY extend the time-frame of the commission by FOUR WEEKS if truly the Governor wants to unravel the mistery behind the stigma Akwa-Ibom children have been subjected to
2. include a capable child psychologist and a respected human rights activist in the commission to ensure that the members are adequately advised in the screening of gathered child-related information and that the pulse of the populace on the menace is sumptuously felt; and
3. Ensure that the commission, as promised, by His Excellency Governor Akpabio, remain apolitical and futuristic.
On our part, we are ready, as CONCERNED CITIZENS of Nigeria, STAKEHOLDERS and professionals, to partake in the public hearing BUT we shall be happier if the above concerns are taken care of.
Above all, we want to thank His Excellency, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, for this initiative and his untiring efforts to free Akwa-Ibom state children.
Akwa-Ibom Children ADO OK! They are NOT WITCHES!!!
Onward!
'Yemi Ademowo Johnson
For YHN
YHN/SSNUK anthology, Suffereth Not a Witch to Live, is out!
Suffereth Not a Witch to Live
Discourse on Child-Witch Hunting in Nigeria
Edited by:
Adeyemi Johnson Ademowo
Gary Foxcroft
Temidayo David Oladipo
Belief in witches is never peculiar to Nigerians, nor is it an ‘African thing’, for there are stories of witchcraft practices and witch-hunting in countries all over the world. Thousands of lives have been lost at stakes, village squares, witch pits, etc., all in the name of witch-hunting globally. However, the contemporary practice of witch-hunting in different parts of Africa, when similar beliefs have been thrown into the rubrics of history in other parts of the world, and, or, in the face of ‘modernity’ and contemporary advancements in science and technology, is quite disturbing. Again, considering that children, the bundles of joy in almost all cultures of the world, are now the targets of witchcraft accusations in some African countries such as Congo, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, among others, one can’t but be moved to ask: is it a case of barbarism? Or is it a resurgence of primitively acts? Or, considering the role of churches, is it a case of ignorance of proper interpretation of religious texts? Does poverty has any role to play in these accusations?
Contributors to Suffereth Not a Witch to Live have one or two answers to proffer to the above questions. Although the book is essentially on the Nigerian case-study, some contributors attempted to go wider to explain the phenomenon in an African context. Indeed, the book can be taken as an amalgam of theoretical and applied contributions on the understanding of the menace called childwitch hunting by academics and social workers researching and working with the victims of the menace. Also included, for personal reflections of the readers to possibly deduce answers to the questions, are excerpts of interviews had with ten victims of childwitch hunting abuse (those who lived to tell the stories).
You can get a copy by contacting:
Yemi Johnson yemijohnson@gmail.com
Or
Gary Foxcroft www.steppingstonesnigeria.org
Monday, November 15, 2010
HARRASMENT OF CHILD RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN AKWA IBOM STRONGLY CONDEMNED
The international child rights NGO, Stepping Stones Nigeria (SSN), has condemned in the strongest terms the ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation directed at one of its Nigerian partners, the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN), which is based in Eket, Akwa Ibom state, in the Niger Delta. Since the work of SSN and CRARN was featured in the multi-award winning documentary – Saving Africa’s Witch Children – in 2008 both NGOs have been on the receiving end of a fierce and relentless campaign of intimidation. This has included two court cases being launched against them by the child witch-hunting pastor – Helen Ukpabio - who also sent her supporters to raid a child rights conference organised by the NGOs and beat up the organisers. Her lawyer also escorted some police officers from Lagos to the CRARN centre in July 2009 where they falsely arrested staff and beat up a number of the 200+ children.
Recent developments have seen the Akwa Ibom State Government launch a widespread media campaign stating that SSN and CRARN are fraudulent organisations who have used the children under their care to extort millions of pounds from the international community and demanding that the President of CRARN – Sam Itauma – and the Programme Director of Stepping Stones Nigeria – Gary Foxcroft – should both be arrested. These allegations have been entirely refuted by both agencies who have stated that their accounts are publicly available for all to see.
On Wednesday 10th November, 15 years to the day since the human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged by the Abache Regime, the CRARN centre in Eket was once again raided; this time by the EFCC,iii who said that a petition had been filed against CRARN and that they were seeking to arrest Mr Itauma. When informed that he was not on the premises, they initially arrested another staff member, Mr Bassey, but he was released following protests from the children at CRARN.
Sam Itauma of CRARN stated ‘I am genuinely living in fear for my life. I know there are people who would like to see me dead because I have stood up and told them that it is wrong to torture and murder innocent children who have been accused of being witches. I have had to leave my home and family and go into hiding. How can this be right?”
He continued: “The only reason that certain people are making accusations against me is because their interests are threatened by our fight against child witchcraft-related abuse. I am happy to face any charges that are brought against me or CRARN, including those from the EFCC, as long as this is done through a publicly monitored and fully accountable process, rather than at the whim of some official who disagrees with the work that we do”.
Gary Foxcroft, Programme Director of SSN, said “It is absolutely disgraceful that passionate, committed human rights defenders are being threatened in this way, when all they are trying to do is protect the rights of some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in Nigeria. We call upon the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Akwa Ibom State Government to guarantee the security of the staff and children at CRARN and to ensure that any charges brought against them by agencies such as the EFCC are conducted in a fully transparent manner.”
Foxcroft added “It appears that the Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Chief (Dr) Godswill Akpabio is being given false information by those who seek to profit financially from the exploitation of helpless, innocent children. We will continue to seek dialogue with the Governor at the earliest opportunity so that we can reassure him that we are genuine NGOs and wish to work together with the Government in order to overcome the problem of child witchcraft accusations and repair the damage done to the image of Akwa Ibom State due to this ongoing campaign of intimidation”.
Recent developments have seen the Akwa Ibom State Government launch a widespread media campaign stating that SSN and CRARN are fraudulent organisations who have used the children under their care to extort millions of pounds from the international community and demanding that the President of CRARN – Sam Itauma – and the Programme Director of Stepping Stones Nigeria – Gary Foxcroft – should both be arrested. These allegations have been entirely refuted by both agencies who have stated that their accounts are publicly available for all to see.
On Wednesday 10th November, 15 years to the day since the human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged by the Abache Regime, the CRARN centre in Eket was once again raided; this time by the EFCC,iii who said that a petition had been filed against CRARN and that they were seeking to arrest Mr Itauma. When informed that he was not on the premises, they initially arrested another staff member, Mr Bassey, but he was released following protests from the children at CRARN.
Sam Itauma of CRARN stated ‘I am genuinely living in fear for my life. I know there are people who would like to see me dead because I have stood up and told them that it is wrong to torture and murder innocent children who have been accused of being witches. I have had to leave my home and family and go into hiding. How can this be right?”
He continued: “The only reason that certain people are making accusations against me is because their interests are threatened by our fight against child witchcraft-related abuse. I am happy to face any charges that are brought against me or CRARN, including those from the EFCC, as long as this is done through a publicly monitored and fully accountable process, rather than at the whim of some official who disagrees with the work that we do”.
Gary Foxcroft, Programme Director of SSN, said “It is absolutely disgraceful that passionate, committed human rights defenders are being threatened in this way, when all they are trying to do is protect the rights of some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in Nigeria. We call upon the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Akwa Ibom State Government to guarantee the security of the staff and children at CRARN and to ensure that any charges brought against them by agencies such as the EFCC are conducted in a fully transparent manner.”
Foxcroft added “It appears that the Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Chief (Dr) Godswill Akpabio is being given false information by those who seek to profit financially from the exploitation of helpless, innocent children. We will continue to seek dialogue with the Governor at the earliest opportunity so that we can reassure him that we are genuine NGOs and wish to work together with the Government in order to overcome the problem of child witchcraft accusations and repair the damage done to the image of Akwa Ibom State due to this ongoing campaign of intimidation”.
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