by KAZEEM IBRAHYM, Niger Delta
EVERY Akwa Ibom child will be completely protected by this law we are signing today, and this is a
commitment we would protect with all the might of the legal instruments at our disposal. We have come to make a law to protect everything we cherish and value….”
Those were the words from Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio shortly after signing the Child Rights Bill into Law on December 5, 2008.
The law became necessary after many parents and guardians in the state subjected their children/wards to inhuman treatments after branding them “witches” and “wizards”.
The events leading to the passage of the law are still fresh in the memories of many as the state was subjected to global odium by a report on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on alleged child-witches and inhuman treatments meted to them by their parents and communities.
A self-styled cleric, Bishop Sunday William, declared in the report that 2.3 million witches and wizards existed in the state – most of them, according to him, are children.
Williams also claimed that he helped parents kill about 110 “child-witches” for as much as N400,000 per ‘witch’.
The BBC documentary on the activities of his church went viral on the internet. It angered Akpabio that a ‘Bishop’ would declare that 2.3 million witches existed in a state of less than 4 million people; leaving just 1.7 million of the population witch-free.
The governor immediately ordered the Bishop’s arrest. The Bishop was later paraded at the State Police Headquarters, where he told reporters he did not kill the children as alleged, but merely destroyed spirits of witchcraft in them.
“I started destroying the spirits of witchcraft from people since 2007. I only destroyed the spirits out of the people up to 110 but not killing the main people.
“You can see behind me some of the children whom I have destroyed the spirit of witches out of them.”
Akpabio dismissed the 2.3 million witches claim. The governor, who spoke at a ceremony organised by Inoyo Toro Foundation in honour of Science, Mathematics and English language teachers in Uyo, said some of the children had confessed to being witches and wizards when they were tortured by their parents and church leaders.
Akpabio said: “If you put a nail on my head and ask me to agree that I am a wizard, I would do that to save myself from torture. That is how these children are tortured to accept that they are witches and their parents would gladly throw them out of the house.
“We will not only destroy such churches, but also get their pastors prosecuted and jailed to set example for others because some churches are deceiving people.”
While the number of such persons prosecuted since the enactment of the law remains unknown, cases of maltreatment and abuse continue to increase daily in the state.
Commissioner of Police Umar Gwadabe said the command was grappling with the rising tide of violence against persons accused of witchcraft.
His words: “On several occasions, our men were called upon to rescue vulnerable persons, such as women, children and the elderly who are falsely accused of being witches, and who are being subjected to untold acts of torture and brutality by some criminal elements.
“A case in point is the rescue of two male children aged nine (9) and six (6) years Mmenyene and Samuel who were branded as wizards in a village called Ikot Obio Asanga. They were rescued in a toilet having been locked up for 14 days without food and water.
“This followed a so-called prophesy that the children were wizards and responsible for the misfortune that had befallen the family. Those involved, the father and a prophetess had been picked up and charged to court.”
One of such unlucky victim was 12-year-old Mercy Frank, whose mother bathed her with acid because a prophet claimed she was possessed by witchcraft.
When our reporter met Mercy at the Children Ward of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), she was sitting alone and begging for food.
Mercy, before the acid bath, attended Atabong Primary School in Oron. The acid bath affected her breasts, mouth and other parts of her body.
Narrating her sad story, she said: “I am from Atabong village in Oron Local Government Area. I am the second child in the family of four children. My mother poured acid solution on my body that is why my mouth and my body are like these.
“One of our neighbours told my mother that I was a witch but I told her that I was not a witch. She took me to Apostolic Church in Atabong, Oron and the pastor told her that I was a witch. When the pastor asked me if I was a witch, I told him I was not a witch.
“The pastor prayed and told my mother that I was a witch then we went back home after the prayer. When we got home that night, my mother canned me seriously. Other neighbours begged her to let me be but she refused.
“Later at midnight, my mother took me to a deep forest and poured acid solution on me and dropped me by the roadside and left.”
She said security agents brought her to the hospital after seeing her in pains and crying by the roadside.
Mercy was lucky to survive the attack.
Effiong Lawson was not. He was recently beheaded, allegedly by his stepfather, Felix Lawson, 43, who accused him of being a wizard. Sources said Lawson accused the child of being responsible for the fate of his wretched and poverty-stricken family.
Eyewitness said the incident occurred while the suspect was enjoying his meal after returning from work on the fateful day.
His hungry step-son reportedly sneaked into the backyard and whispered to his younger sister to bring him leftover food to stop his hunger.
But the enraged stepfather, who heard and recognised his voice, went for his machete and attacked the child.
Two friends of the late Effiong’s who accompanied him to the house, sensing the danger from the stepfather, took to their heels but the late Effiong was not as lucky. He was overpowered and beheaded by the irate father.
Our investigations revealed that these and other incidents occurred despite the Child Rights Law.
Observers say the state government needs to exercise its judicial power and make the law function effectively by ensuring that perpetrators, like Effiong, are punished by the court to serve as deterrent to others.