Mercy Frank,12 years old, bathed with raw acid by her mother after a church prophetess deckared a with 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.
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