Pastor Helen Ukpabio Crusade poster for War on Witches in Akwa Ibom
CNN Condemns Pastor Helen Ukpabio for Attacking Child Witches in Akwa Ibom
The popular Nollywood movie producer pastor Helen Ukpabio has been condemned in a special CNN report on the abuse and murder of children accused of witchcraft in the Akwa Ibom state of southern Nigeria.
“One of the most notorious and influential pastors is Helen Ukpabio of Liberty Gospel Church. Her 1999 film, the widely distributed, "End of the Wicked" has been attacked by child rights groups for its depictions of Satan possessing children,” reported the CNN on Thursday August 26, 2010.
The reporter said she agreed to be interviewed, but repeatedly postponed it for two days. Ukpabio’s Liberty Gospel Church has been the centre of her deliverances of various children suspected of being witches and wizards.
"Witches and wizards, they started getting afraid. I never gave them rest!" She boasted to her congregation during one of her usual services.
The CNN also highlighted one Pastor Celestine Effiong who is popular for child molestation during his deliverances.
The report by Christian Purefoy investigated the numerous cases of the rampant molestation and murder of innocent children hounded by their parents, guardians or relatives as witches in Akwa Ibom.
"They can say your child is a witch and if you bring the child to the church we can deliver the child but eventually they don't deliver the children... The parents go back to the pastor and say, 'why is it you have not been able to deliver the child' and the pastor says 'Oh - this one has gone past deliverance - they've eaten too much flesh so you have to throw the child out,'" said an eyewitness who was interviewed by the CNN reporter in Akwa Ibom.
Eyewitnesses reported that most pastors even charged between $300 and $2, 000 for exorcism.
Some NGOs have alerted the world and received support from human rights groups for the protection of children, but the local authorities in Akwa Ibom have dismissed them as scammers exaggerating the allegations for their own selfish interests. The state government said a new Child Right’s Bill will stop the further abuse and false accusation of innocent children.
"We insist that the name of Akwa Ibom state must not be smeared and the people of the world should not be deceived by certain NGOs who are claiming to be taking care of stigmatized children of Akwa Ibom," said Aniekan Umanah, the Information Commissioner of Nigeria's Akwa Ibom state.
Poverty and ignorance caused by maladministration have left millions of Nigerians at the mercy of spiritualists claiming to be God sent prophets anointed with healing powers and making promises of astonishing miracles to liberate the poverty stricken masses plagued by socio-political anomie.
Akwa Ibom is famous for being the major place where Mary Slessor the Scottish missionary fought and stopped the barbaric killing of twins in the 19th century.
You can follow the report on Nigeria's child witch scandal on CNN International's Connect The World this week at 2000 GMT.
~ By Orikinla Osinachi
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