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Abuse and Persecution
of Akwa Ibom Children
on Account of Witchcraft - Petition
Petition Start Date: November 21, 2008
Petition End Date: December 10, 2008
Goal: 2000 Signatories


Gov. Godswill Akpabio
Government House
Uyo
Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria,

Sir,

Save our children from further witch-hunt, abandonment, abuse, maiming, false imprisonment and killing in the name of religion.

We are concerned citizens of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and the world writing on issues pertaining to humanity. We have watched in horror and read of the estimated 15, 000 defenseless children in Akwa Ibom State, falsely accused of witchcraft being abandoned, abused, persecuted, killed and imprisoned by some churches and "people of God" against their will to force confession from them.

We have learned of the disturbing trend in Akwa Ibom State where families and communities ostracize their young children, in some cases, they are abandoned to roam the streets. Some have been left at the mercy of CRARN as soon as they are falsely identified as witches and wizards by some evangelical pastors. These children are scapegoats for all misfortunes that befall their parents from poverty, illness, accident, death and where farms fail to yield crops. All are stigmatized, some face humiliation, attacks with bodily harm such as burning, driving nail into the skull, broken bones, forced to sit on hot item, imprisoned by some churches to force confession. In some cases, they pay the ultimate price with their lives. If it continues at this rate, we will stand to loose a good segment of a generation of our children when good people do nothing to save them. Good people cannot continue to be silent about these atrocities.

Our attention is drawn to one bishop Sunday Ulup-Aya of a church in Ibaka, who has openly confessed to killing "up to 110 people…identified to be a witch." He concocts a high quantity of local gin (Akai-kai) with African mercury (lead poison) popularly known as "Ekim," mixing them with his blood for the young victims to drink. He confesses to making a fortune as much as N400, 000 to destroy witch in a child. He falsely claims there are estimated 2.3 million witches and wizards in Akwa Ibom, which is nearly half of the state total population of 4.8m by 2005 estimate. We cannot stand idly by for one dubious man to paint us as evil where, for the most part, the people are God fearing and law abiding citizens.

Our attention is drawn also to the teaching, book and video production titled "End of the Wicked" by Mrs. Helen Ukpabio of Liberty Foundation Church and that Apostle Dr. Cletus Bassey condemns this video and book in its totality. As the President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Akwa Ibom under which Mrs. Helen Ukpabio conducts religious business, Dr. Bassey thinks these kinds of videos should be discontinued and discouraged. The video and book production, he adds, do not present a true picture of what we represent, is not a true picture of a nation we are trying to build, is not presenting a true picture of children that we are trying to raise and a not good picture of a society we are trying to sanitize.

Sir, the primary function and responsibility of any government is to protect its citizens from any threat or harm, foreign or domestic. Prior to this expose, it was a mere rumor to those who never witnessed the danger posed to our defenseless children accused of witchcraft by these evangelists in the state. Around the world's television sets, on BBC/ UK Channel 4 TV, You Tube, Facebook and on many forums, these embarrassing images have indicted the conscience of all of us: our local churches, families, local communities and state government while the world waits with baited breath to see what we can do to save these threatened children. You receive this signed petition because as the most powerful person in the state you have the power to stop the witch-hunts, abandonment, abuse, maiming, imprisonment and killing of our children to save them from the atrocities. Failing to do so, we will continue this loss to false prophets and we cannot afford it.

In conclusion, therefore we demand:


<*>A full investigation into the activities of anyone including parents and churches accusing children of witchcraft aiming at swiftly bringing perpetrators to justice.
<*>The arrest, investigation and prosecution of bishop Sunday Ulup-Aya of an Ibaka church who has confessed to multiple murder of killing up to 110 people falsely identified witchcraft.
<*>A statewide awareness program by the Ministry of Education and Social Re-orientation to present a true image of the type of children we are raising and state we are building.
<*>Mrs. Helen Ukpabio's video and book on "End of the Wicked" must be discontinued and discouraged.
<*>Expand Child Rights Acts to prohibit these cruel practices throughout the state.
<*>Establish Children Social Services Agency to open up funding to International organizations.

Copy:

Bar. Victor Iyanam, Akwa Ibom State Attorney General
Dr. Cletus Bassey, President, Pentecostal Church of Nigeria, Akwa Ibom State
The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mike Zuokumor
Christian Association of Nigeria
Mr. Aniekan Umanah, State Commissioner of Information
The Media

f you haven't done so already, Sign the Petition to End th...

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We are concerned citizens of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and the world writing on issues pertaining to humanity. We have watched in horror and read of the estimated 15, 000 defenseless children in Akwa Ibom State, falsely accused of witchcraft being abandoned, abused, persecuted, killed and imprisoned by some churches and "people of God" against their will to force confession from them.

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Where are the so-called Concerned Citizens of Akwa Ibom State, when all these atrocities were being perpetrated against children, under your nose?

Why does it have to take a mere foreigner, (an Englishman for matter), who raised the alarm about the wicked atrocities against children in your state before you now joined the bandwagon to address the issue.

I bet most of you knew about this wicked atrocities against the innocent children in Akwa Ibom State, but brushed it under the carpet, only now to wake up from your slumber.....shouting. Ebami ki gbe ole o! That is raising unnecessary alarm, after the wicked deed has been done under your nose.

I do hope that this is a genuine concerned citizens of Akwa Ibom State, who are honest and ready to do justice for the sake of prosterity and humanity..

I don't trust Nigerians. Some people might use this as an opportunity to make money, by setting up bogus NGOs, all in the name of concerned citizens.

We are watching you.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

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Despite the antecedents of the smart alecs that abound in Nigeria, people who only reason in the now, I want to give this effort the benefit of doubt. If we cry for change, then we must embrace any effort in this direction with some positivism. However, I take exception with the writer for limiting this to "Concerned Citizens of Akwa Ibom" Who constitutes this group? The crimes being highlighted are not against Akwa Ibom alone! These are crimes against humanity, and against which so many, from all corners of the world have been outraged.

We must encourage anyone and everyone with a conscience to sign this petition as a first step to bringing pressure to bear on the Governor and his team to take more action(I am aware that he is currently taking some action).

Let all hands be on deck, a society with deformed children will face a deformed future at best or no future at all.

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I applaud any effort from all quarters to highlight this despicable assault on everything that is civil and humane. I'm unsure who the 'concerned citizens of Akwa Ibom state are, but I have promptly signed the protest/petition letter, in true Nigeriavillagesquare tradition. I will suggest an expansion of the letter to include 'All well-meaning Nigerians and other concerned citizens of the world'. I also believe that there are grounds for prosecution of Helen Ukpabio and her fellow coven-dwellers for indirectly flaming this pogrom through the distribution of her movies and books. Can this be included as one of the petition demands? Can the NVS lawyers amongst us advice?

This expose' has caused such a ground-swell of anger and horror in every decerning person who has watched this documenary. That we must not relax our guard when it has to do with Nigeria, is a given. I refuse to trust the future of my country into the hands of charlatans and mediocres who currently govern us. The horror flicks only change, but the theme remains the same; If its not 'Child witches', it is 'Naval men brutalizing Nigerians'. When will this assault on ordinary Nigerians end?
Sign the document or donate to Stepping Stones through the web links provided. Play your own part as a concerned Nigerian.

I have attached below, an earlier post I made on NVS regarding this subject matter, directly in response to @ttonjo, who seems to believe that these patterns of abuse and neglect are the exclusive preserve of Akwa-Ibom state. I dare to ask rhetorically: 'Oyinbo man sabi the difference between Akwa-Ibom man and Yoruba or Hausa man? All of us be Nigerians for here, according to Oyinbo!' Read the responses on Youtube and other social fora as testimony of the unequivocal consternation accross board regarding the treatment these lovely kids have endured!:

''I do not find your response in any way helpful because it plants a seed of doubt in the minds of those who wish to help these beautiful children. I understand your reservation but I believe that this knee-jerk response, insinuating '419' regarding this call to action is just part of the unfortunate and rabid cynicism that pervades our collective consciousness.
Do what you have to do to help those kids, they did not ask to be born. If you need more pictures, more will be uploaded on face book in the next week of so. If you need confirmation, I suppose you can make a call to stepping stones, or visit Nigeria discreetly yourself. Most importantly, contact the child Rights and Rehabilitation Network and the Stepping Stones website to help. The house that is being used to house those kids is owned by an old 'Great Ife' colleague of mine who lives in Washington DC. I am also an author in the Village square, so you can send me a personal message if you require any more information (I do not think there is any information that you cannot find on the CRARN/stepping stones website). Some members of this forum are rightly stepping up to the stage to help in their own way, you can join up with them.
If we believe that this cancer festers in Akwa-Ibom state alone, then, either we're smoking something or wallowing in denial.
Inside all of us born and bred in Nigeria is some false memory or paranoia of someone or some occasion where witchcraft, juju or some diabolical interpretation has been recruited to explain a perfectly normal occurrence. A granny dies at 104 years. She must have died because her daughter 'chop am for winch'! A raving lunatic driver kills himself driving on the wrong side of Ikorodu road; 'Na him sister wey be winch kill am'! Haba, why do we choose to explain away incompetence with mediocrity? Our former bufoon of a president and his court jesters, attempted to change the constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria to support his third-term ambition, and he uses God as an alabi.
Have you heard any meaningful sounds comming out of the Nigerian media about this sordid affair? Has there been any element of revulsion from our leaders?
Ask yourself, if you had not left the shores of Nigeria, would you have shown the same measure of revulsion as has been voiced by nigerians in diaspora? Do most of us not recall a 'house-boy' or 'house-girl' in our circle of acqaintance? A pre-pubescent child condemned to spend his or her childhood in servitude. Abused and tortured daily. Humiliated and starved. Totally at the mercy of the slave master or mistress? Yes! yes! Does this ring any bell for you?

It is a sad time for us all, when images like this paint a gloomy picture of my country. So shocking, so sad. The images of the little ebony beauty, Mary haunts me, seemingly asking me; 'Why have you allowed this to happen to me?'
These revelations are just a chip of the iceberg of our cultural miasma infested by extreme religion (Cancer of 'born-again' phenomena and Sharia) and incubated in extreme poverty. If we believe this is happening only in Akwa-Ibom State, think again. Think again!''

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=ttonjo;293937>

Where are the so-called Concerned Citizens of Akwa Ibom State, when all these atrocities were being perpetrated against children, under your nose?

Why does it have to take a mere foreigner, (an Englishman for matter), who raised the alarm about the wicked atrocities against children in your state before you now joined the bandwagon to address the issue.

I bet most of you knew about this wicked atrocities against the innocent children in Akwa Ibom State, but brushed it under the carpet, only now to wake up from your slumber.....shouting. Ebami ki gbe ole o! That is raising unnecessary alarm, after the wicked deed has been done under your nose.

I do hope that this is a genuine concerned citizens of Akwa Ibom State, who are honest and ready to do justice for the sake of prosterity and humanity..

I don't trust Nigerians. Some people might use this as an opportunity to make money, by setting up bogus NGOs, all in the name of concerned citizens.

We are watching you.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

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Though, I have already signed the petition, I hope your pessimism is not confirmed later. Anyway, lets give it a try and see how it goes. One Mr Itauma who appeared on that programme should be encouraged by all of us.

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=emenanjo;294281>Though, I have already signed the petition, I hope your pessimism is not confirmed later. Anyway, lets give it a try and see how it goes. One Mr Itauma who appeared on that programme should be encouraged by all of us.

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I have also signed the petition as well, and I do hope and pray that something good will come out of this.

In fact, we are all in this together. It is not the case of we and them. It is the matter that concerned all of us as Nigerians in particular, and as human beings in general.:):):)

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Would you rather save your 'little pennies' so they are not lost than to sacrifice same, taking the chance for this noble cause of saving the children?

There is no time for doubting now.

Please donate without looking back.
Let us all drop our little 'tears' to the 'ocean' of love.

I salute those who have accepted to walk the gauntlet.

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Sorry folks...fact is that there's way too much religion in Nigeria and scanty little morality. This sad revelation points out a "quiet as it is kept" dark secret that pervades this backwater country we happen to call home...most, if not all Nigerians are superstitious cretins. Folks out here believe the most improbable inanities...people are being lynched in major cities like Lagos and Kano for purportedly "stealing" (by magical means), the male organs of others!!! Usually none of it is ever borne out by a proper examination of the "victim". Even so-called educated university-trained doctorate holders here, invariably buy into this horrible hokum of witches and wizards. A greedy fellow who eats himself into a cardiac arrest would blame the supernatural instead of sanely modifying his diet. Their primitive tendencies seem to trump any modern training they might have had. The problems of these "witch children" and their travails is a direct consequence of this backwardness which translates into a stagnant shadows-boxing fetish-laden religionist fold your arms and wait for the bye-d-bye proclivity of Nigerians. SHAME!!!

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Oga Petition,

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=admin;293926>Abuse and Persecution
of Akwa Ibom Children
on Account of Witchcraft - Petition
Petition Start Date: November 21, 2008
Petition End Date: December 10, 2008
Goal: 2000 Signatories


Gov. Godswill Akpabio
Government House
Uyo
Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria,

Sir,

Save our children from further witch-hunt, abandonment, abuse, maiming, false imprisonment and killing in the name of religion.

We are concerned citizens of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and the world writing on issues pertaining to humanity. We have watched in horror and read of the estimated 15, 000 defenseless children in Akwa Ibom State, falsely accused of witchcraft being abandoned, abused, persecuted, killed and imprisoned by some churches and "people of God" against their will to force confession from them.

We have learned of the disturbing trend in Akwa Ibom State where families and communities ostracize their young children, in some cases, they are abandoned to roam the streets. Some have been left at the mercy of CRARN as soon as they are falsely identified as witches and wizards by some evangelical pastors. These children are scapegoats for all misfortunes that befall their parents from poverty, illness, accident, death and where farms fail to yield crops. All are stigmatized, some face humiliation, attacks with bodily harm such as burning, driving nail into the skull, broken bones, forced to sit on hot item, imprisoned by some churches to force confession. In some cases, they pay the ultimate price with their lives. If it continues at this rate, we will stand to loose a good segment of a generation of our children when good people do nothing to save them. Good people cannot continue to be silent about these atrocities.

Our attention is drawn to one bishop Sunday Ulup-Aya of a church in Ibaka, who has openly confessed to killing "up to 110 people…identified to be a witch." He concocts a high quantity of local gin (Akai-kai) with African mercury (lead poison) popularly known as "Ekim," mixing them with his blood for the young victims to drink. He confesses to making a fortune as much as N400, 000 to destroy witch in a child. He falsely claims there are estimated 2.3 million witches and wizards in Akwa Ibom, which is nearly half of the state total population of 4.8m by 2005 estimate. We cannot stand idly by for one dubious man to paint us as evil where, for the most part, the people are God fearing and law abiding citizens.

Our attention is drawn also to the teaching, book and video production titled "End of the Wicked" by Mrs. Helen Ukpabio of Liberty Foundation Church and that Apostle Dr. Cletus Bassey condemns this video and book in its totality. As the President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Akwa Ibom under which Mrs. Helen Ukpabio conducts religious business, Dr. Bassey thinks these kinds of videos should be discontinued and discouraged. The video and book production, he adds, do not present a true picture of what we represent, is not a true picture of a nation we are trying to build, is not presenting a true picture of children that we are trying to raise and a not good picture of a society we are trying to sanitize.

Sir, the primary function and responsibility of any government is to protect its citizens from any threat or harm, foreign or domestic. Prior to this expose, it was a mere rumor to those who never witnessed the danger posed to our defenseless children accused of witchcraft by these evangelists in the state. Around the world's television sets, on BBC/ UK Channel 4 TV, You Tube, Facebook and on many forums, these embarrassing images have indicted the conscience of all of us: our local churches, families, local communities and state government while the world waits with baited breath to see what we can do to save these threatened children. You receive this signed petition because as the most powerful person in the state you have the power to stop the witch-hunts, abandonment, abuse, maiming, imprisonment and killing of our children to save them from the atrocities. Failing to do so, we will continue this loss to false prophets and we cannot afford it.

In conclusion, therefore we demand:


<*>A full investigation into the activities of anyone including parents and churches accusing children of witchcraft aiming at swiftly bringing perpetrators to justice.
<*>The arrest, investigation and prosecution of bishop Sunday Ulup-Aya of an Ibaka church who has confessed to multiple murder of killing up to 110 people falsely identified witchcraft.
<*>A statewide awareness program by the Ministry of Education and Social Re-orientation to present a true image of the type of children we are raising and state we are building.
<*>Mrs. Helen Ukpabio's video and book on "End of the Wicked" must be discontinued and discouraged.
<*>Expand Child Rights Acts to prohibit these cruel practices throughout the state.
<*>Establish Children Social Services Agency to open up funding to International organizations.

Copy:

Bar. Victor Iyanam, Akwa Ibom State Attorney General
Dr. Cletus Bassey, President, Pentecostal Church of Nigeria, Akwa Ibom State
The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mike Zuokumor
Christian Association of Nigeria
Mr. Aniekan Umanah, State Commissioner of Information
The Media

f you haven't done so already, Sign the Petition to End th...

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Can you at least mention that some of these children have been killed?

We also need to boldly emphasize that this is normal African Christian belief. The least we can do for a document like this is to imbue it with TRUTH.

Obugi.

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@Obugi,
Maybe you missed the portion in the petition, highlighted below:

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In conclusion, therefore we demand:
.......

2. The arrest, investigation and prosecution of bishop Sunday Ulup-Aya of an Ibaka church who has confessed to multiple murder of killing up to 110 people falsely identified witchcraft.............

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