Child Witch - Bishop, Four Others Arraigned

Uyo — Self-styled Bishop, Sunday Okon Williams, who allegedly killed 110 children in Akwa Ibom State, in an attempt to exorcise witchcraft from them, was yesterday arraigned before an Oron High Court, along with four others. They are facing torture and murder charges.

Williams, founder of a spiritual healing home at Ibaka, Mbo Local Government area, was arrested November last year, following a documentary: Saving Africa's Witch Children," broadcast by the United Kingdom (UK) Channel 4 station on November 12, 2008.

In the documentary, the accused, during an interview, allegedly admitted killing more than 110 children in Akwa Ibom State, as he claimed to possess the power to exorcise witchcraft spirits from children.

Embarrassed by the documentary, the state government, in conjunction with security operatives, moved swiftly to arrest and charged them to Court.

Although the accused persons pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out to them, the Presiding Judge, Justice Archibong Archibong, ordered that they be remanded at the Eket Prison.

The other accused persons include Pastor Samuel Excellence, Udeme Okon William, Ezekiel Bassey Oforkudok and Akpe Alfred Akpe.

Justice Archibong maintained that the accused could not be granted bail because of the serious nature of the case. He indicated that such application or order for bail should be made more formal before the court

In an interview, Commissioner for Information and Social Re-orientation, Mr Aniekan Umanah, said the appearance of the accused in court was a practical demonstration of the government's determination to safeguard rights of children of Akwa Ibom State, as enshrined in the Child Rights Act 2008.

The suit number HOR/3C/2009, State vs Bishop Sunday Okon William and Four others, was adjourned till June 8, 2009, for continuation of hearing.

AllAfrica

The Hullabaloo about Child Witches

Following reports that children branded witches in Akwa Ibom were being maltreated, a couple of foreign TV stations ran a documentary which was allegedly named, styled and culled from a film made by a local foundation titled “End of the Wicked”. The body claims the documentary has brought woes to the organisation. Mary Ekah writes

She has been under the scrutiny and attacked of the world press lately. By no fault of hers, she has been tagged “Heartless Wicked Woman”, “False Prophetess”, “Extortionist”, the list is endless. It is no other person but the evangelist, filmmaker and president of Liberty Gospel Church based in Calabar, Mrs. Helen Ukpabio.
She claimed to have suffered for the faith which she proclaims as there have been a whole lot of derogatory statements against her pasted on the internet by people all over the world. It does not just end there. Ukpabio claimed she has suffered several physical attacks by people while on her missionary journey abroad all on the allegation that her movies encourage the stigmatisation and maltreatment of children labeled witches in Akwa Ibom State.
The hullabaloo against Liberty Church Gospel Church started late last year, when on November 12, 2008, following the reports that children branded witches by pastors in Akwa Ibom were maltreated, channel 04 of the UK ran a two-hour telecast/documentary on “dispatches” titled, “Saving the African Child Witch”.
The documentary was named, styled and curdled from popularly film made by the Incorporated Trustees of the Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries and titled “End of the Wicked.” Ukpabio is shocked that “End of the Wicked”, which has been out since1999 and has been a source of deliverance to countless families, is posing a problem to some section of people even ten years after it was produced.
The story line of “End of the Wicked”, Ukpabio said, has nothing to do with children labeled witchcraft. The film, she stressed, simply says if a child is a glutton, he or she could be easily be initiated into witchcraft and the only way out for such child is deliverance through the Lord Jesus.
“There was no place in the film where children were branded witches rather, we saw greedy children initiated into witchcraft by other children who were witches in the school,” Ukpabio explained.
It was claimed in the TV documentary by UK broadcaster of Channel 4 that the views that she expresses has lead to a massive upsurge in children stigmatised and abandoned by their families in West Africa, particularly in Akwa Ibom State.
The documentary followed the activities of two charities, Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) and Stepping Stones Nigeria, a UK-based organisation that claim to look after the children who have been rejected by their parents for displaying what they believed to be signs of witchcraft.
“These scammers have so far collected over 200,000 British Pound Sterling from members of the public. The Akwa Ibom state government fell to these scammers by parting with twenty thousand pounds. The truth of the matter is that Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries never produced the pirated film “End of the Wicked” shown on the said documentary.
“The authentic film made by the ministry and approved by the National Board for Video Censorship Board was radically different from the pirated film wherein our ministries was wickedly libeled thereof,” Ukpabio said.
“No where in the film of Helen Ukpabio showed where children were labeled as witches, tortured or where parents of these children were asked to pay some amount of money,” the organisation's lawyer said last week.
Instead, the lawyer said Ukpabio's 'End of the Wicked,' showed how children or adult who has been initiated into witchcraft cult could be delivered through the power of Christ. The message passed by the documentary, he stressed, is completely different from the original message intended by Helen Ukpabio's “End of the Wicked”.
Consequently, the church has complained to the regulatory agency in UK, OFCOM concerning, what the lawyer described as, “the unprofessional telecast,” which he said is against OFCOM broadcast code of UK.
“We have also complained to the Akwa Ibom State Government to close down CRARN for being a conduit for 419 and keeping custody of children contrary to the laws of Akwa Ibom State and the Child Right Act 2007”, he said further.
The lawyer also revealed that the church has also complained to EFCC to arrest and prosecute Gary Fox Croft of Stepping Stones Nigeria and Sam Ikpe-Itauman of CRARN for using CRARN and SSN to perpetuate 419. The organisation is also instituting legal action against channel 04, and the narrator of the documentary, Sophie Okowedo, for libel.
Ukpabio said “If you know what I know and have seen the suffering people go through every day when they come to me for counseling, you would have even done more films on witchcraft with the intent of exposing their activities.
“I believe witch craft is a minor problem which we can handle effectively compared to what happen on the streets of Europe where kids get involved in drugs, murder and all sorts.”
She is also surprised at the way the Akwa Ibom state government has reacted to such trick, and then quickly gave out money to the organisation.
“It is so easy for jobless people who are not renowned people in their countries to come over here and play over the intelligence of the government.
“They are using Nigerians to make money and also capitalise on our ignorance. They feel we are still Nigerians of the 60s and so they can still come in and trample on us,” the evangelist lamented.

THISDAY ONLINE

Religious Leaders Tasked On Stigmatisation

Religious leaders in Ikot Ekpene Local Government area of Akwa Ibom State have been admonished to ensure that the people of the area do not stigmatise or discriminate against aged parents or children on grounds of witchcraft as the state will not view the issue lightly.

The Governor of the state, Chief Godswill Akpabio, stated this at Ikot Ekpene at the just concluded orientation/seminar for church leaders and students.

Represented by the Commissioner for Commerce and Industries, Dr. Emem wills, Akpabio noted that, proliferation of churches and the witches/witchcraft pursuit syndrome is completely out of practice in today’s Christendom.

Speaking on the theme, "The Fear of God:, A Panacea For An Akwa Ibom Child and the Expectations of the 21st Century Church in the State, Wills noted with dismay how church leaders get themselves involved in deceit, spiritism, mysticism and other forms of sorcery to attract converts for financial gains.

Most of them he observed do not remember anymore to teach the young ones values, norms and etiquettes within the confines of their society.

He advised church leaders to retrace their steps and hold fast to their mandate of prayerfulness, reminding them that they are in the Lord's vineyard and that a great reward awaits those who will do their work diligently.

Leadership Nigeria

Child sacrifice blamed on foreign-based witches

THE increased number of cases of human sacrifice is a result of a crackdown by the South African government against Ugandan witchdoctors, commonly referred to as Bafere, Police boss Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura told Parliament yesterday.

Kayihura said the quack witchdoctors, who were forced to relocate to Uganda, masquerade as traditional herbalists with the purpose of extorting money out of Ugandans.

“Many of these traditional healers have done this business in South Africa. Now that South Africa is arresting them, they are trying to run away.”

He was appearing before the parliamentary select committee investigating the conduct of the Police during the arrest of MPs.

Kayihura said Ugandans with various social problems visit the conmen. These give them herbs after extorting money out of them. The witchdoctors then tell their victims that their problems require a human sacrifice.

“As a way of protecting himself, he tells his victim to look for a head or private parts of a virgin,” Kayihura explained.

He cited the recent incident in Ntunda village, Kiboga district, where a 12-year-old girl was sacrificed days after she was reported missing. Her private parts had been cut off before her body was dumped in a bush. He observed that there are over 60 traditional healers in Ntunda alone.

During the same meeting, Kayihura also proposed that the constitutional provision requiring suspects to be charged in court within 48 hours be reviewed. He said more time is needed for the Police to carry out investigations.

However, the MPs opposed the idea, saying it would increase cases of torture of suspects.
“If someone can be tortured in just a few hours of arrest, what if the 48 hours are reviewed,” the Kasese Woman MP, Winnie Kiiza, asked.

On the conduct of the Police during the arrest of Kampala MP Nabilah Ssempala last year, Kayihura told the committee that the current law does not provide for special ways of arresting an MP. This means that an MP is treated like any other ordinary person during arrest.

He also said he had instituted a committee to investigate claims that some female officers had been sexually harassed by their male counterparts.

Kayihura attributed the increase in cases of drug abuse to weak laws which he said need to be reviewed.

New Vision Online

I've been nominated for "The most Outstanding Online Advocate of Child's Right of the Year 2008" Award!

This is the email and letter Child's Right And Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) sent to me.

Dear Kelli,

I am sending you a letter from CRARN informing you of the Hero's Award to bestowed on you for you unparralled fight for the survival right and freedom of children all over the world.

It is gratifying to note that your online effort at saving the lives of the children around the globe has yeilded significant result. While congratulating you on this award, I will request you to see the attached for detail.

Once again, congratulation.

Thanks.

Sam Ikpe-Itauma

(President)

Child's Right And Rehabilitation Network (CRARN)

Visit our website @ www.crarn.org http://crarn.tripod.com

Hotline +2348026693099 Talk to the children direct call +2348086754666

Registered with the Corperate Affairs Commission (CAC), Abuja, Nigeria

Charity Number: CAC/IT/No 27195

CRARN: Rehabilitating and protecing a child.

Click on the letter to enlarge.

It's a great honor to be nominated for "The most Outstanding Online Advocate of Child's Right of the Year 2008" Award. Thank you so much Child's Right And Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) for nominating me I am truly honored.

Please sign these petitions if you haven't already, the children need us to be their voices and put an end to their torture caused by greedy fake profits:

Help the Child Witches of Nigeria - Support the Prevent Abandonment of Children Today(PACT) Campaign

Stop Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries of Nigeria from labeling children as witches.

Stop The Labeling Of Children As Witches

If you have thank you so much for being a voice for the voiceless.

Gary Foxcroft Receiving a BAFTA!!!

www.steppingstonesnigeria.org
Gary Foxcroft, on stage at the BAFTA's. Dispatches documentary "Saving Africa's Witch Children" featuring Stepping Stones Nigeria wins the Current Affairs BAFTA. 26th April 2009

Evangelist Okpabio denies making withcraft video

A renowned evangelist and Christian video producer, Helen Okpabio, has denied making a video in which children were maltreated for allegedly possessing witchcraft.

In an interview in Lagos, she disassociated herself from a documentary that ran on Channel 04 in the United Kingdom entitled ”Dispatches-Saving The African Child Witch.”

She maintained that she had never ran a campaign concerning witchcraft, involved or seen children maltreated because of witchcraft

Okpabio lamented that since the documentary was aired, she had been molested, assaulted and almost lynched during some of her oversea missionary activities.

According to a Solicitor to the Okpabio‘s Incorporated Trustees of Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries, Mr. Victor Ukutt, the said documentary was sponsored by Mr. Gary Fox Goft of Stepping Stone Nigeria registered in United Kingdom and Mr. Sam Ikpe-Itauma of Child Right and Rehabilitation Network.

Ukutt said the documentary allegedly alluded that Liberty Foundation Gospel Church headed by Evangelist Okpabio labelled children as witches with the intention to extort money from their parents.

”The said documentary was attenuated by the superimposition or plagiarized portion of Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministry entitled ” End of The Wicked”.

”The truth of the matter is that Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries never produced the pirated film ”End of The Wicked” shown on the said documentary. The authentic film made by The Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries and approved by the National Board for Video Censorship Board is radically different from the pirated film wherein Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries was wickedly libeled thereof,” he added.

The Punch