‘The children are not safe here’: the Nigerian couple fighting infanticide

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Dr. F.P.M. van der Kraaij

When I first read the article presented below and published by the Guardian, entitled ‘The children are not safe here’, about a Nigerian couple – Olusola and Chinwe Stevens – fighting infanticide in their own home country, I remembered an earlier article describing this courageous couple and their admirable work. In 2018, to be precise on May 9, 2018, I published a post entitled ‘Nigerian couple working to eliminate infanticide in Nigeria‘, on two Christian missionaries, Steven Olusola Ajayi and his wife Chinwe who in 2004 had opened a shelter for so-called ‘evil children’, the Vine Heritage Home.

Without any doubt, this is the same couple and the same home presented in the 2026 Guardian article below. The 2018 article on the missionary couple was originally published on a website called ‘This Is Africa’. It was an opinion-article. Unfortunately, the exact title is missing. lIn 2018 I had juist started the present site on ritual killings, superstition, witchcraft, infanticide and human rights, and – with hindsight – at that time there was still lack of a systematic presentation.

Unfortunately, the original 2018 article no longer exists on he internet. This is precisely the reason why I have opted for the actual approach to copy-paste articles selected for my postings (together with my comments), as I had this experience before. See the section Why publish this site?

Infanticide is a crime, caused by ignorance and superstition. Nigeria is certainly not the only African country where systematic infanticide exists, i.e. the systematic killing of small children, babies. I regularly read about infanticide in other countries where sometimes desperate mothers kill their newborns. But the shelter created by Olusola and Chinwe Stevens, VIne Heritage, is for other babies whose life is threatened: new born babies who are considered ‘evil’ children, who are believed to be bad omens. Babies with disabilities, albino babies, twins, are suspected to bring curses and bad luck. Hence… they are killed, buried alive, or ‘simply’ disappear.

I express my deep respect to the Stevens couple and am convinced that their work is not in vain and that it will ultimately contribute to the eradication of a terrible crime that has existed for too long.
(webmaster FVDK).

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‘The children are not safe here’: the Nigerian couple fighting infanticide

Triplets Paul, Pauline and Paulina at the Vine Heritage Home Foundation, Gwagwalada, aged six months in July 2025. Photograph: Adesegun Adeokun/The Guardian

Published: February 5, 2026
By: Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani – The Guardian

In a few isolated communities in central Nigeria, some babies are believed to be bad omens. Olusola and Chinwe Stevens run a thriving home for babies at risk. But what happens when the families want them back?

Esther Stevens’ life nearly ended as soon as it began. She was born in 2007, in a village on the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. Her mother died giving birth to her, and in the eyes of some villagers, that meant the baby was cursed. According to tradition, there was only one way to deal with such a child. The villagers tied the newborn to her mother’s lifeless body and prepared to bury them together.

When word reached a Nigerian missionary living in the community, she rushed to the burial site and pleaded for the baby’s life. After the villagers and relatives refused, she appealed to the traditional priest who had been called on to perform the rite. “Finally, the priest agreed and said, let them give her the evil child and see what the child will become,” Esther said. “The child, that’s me.”

The missionary took Esther to a children’s home in Abuja run by a Christian couple, Olusola and Chinwe Stevens, who brought her up as their own. Today, Esther is 18, tall, with a broad smile. She laughs easily and has a quick sense of humour.

In Nigeria, children are widely regarded as gifts from God or the spirit world, but according to some traditional belief systems, certain children were once thought to bring misfortune. Children born with albinism, visible deformities or disabilities were said to bring curses, or to be omens sent from ancestors or deities. In parts of southern Nigeria, particularly among the Igbo, twins and triplets were feared. Although these beliefs have largely faded, in isolated pockets of the country, they persist. In some of these communities, says the human rights activist Leo Igwe, the death of the mother in childbirth is believed to be the fault of the child.

The couple who run the children’s home where Esther grew up have been confronting these practices since 1996. Sent by the Christian Missionary Foundation to Abuja, the Stevenses discovered that some children were still being killed: poisoned, abandoned to starve or buried alive. In 2004, they created the Vine Heritage Home Foundation, a refuge for vulnerable children. Twenty years later, they provide a home for more than 200 children.

When Nigeria moved its capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1976, the new site was presented by the government as a neutral location, symbolically distant from centres of ethnic and regional tensions. But less than 40 miles away from this gleaming modern capital, with its wide boulevards and high-rise buildings, are communities that become nearly impassable in the rainy season. Many of these communities depend largely on subsistence farming, and the few healthcare facilities are poorly equipped and understaffed. According to Olusola, 75% of the children living in Vine Heritage are there because their mothers died in childbirth. (Nigeria is “the most dangerous country in the world to give birth”, according to UN data from 2023, which shows that one in every 100 women dies during childbirth or shortly after, many from postpartum haemorrhage.)

After their shocking discovery, the Stevenses began going around the communities, begging the families to hand over to them any of the “cursed” children rather than kill them. Then they began to speak with other local missionaries, asking them to spread the word that they were willing to take in any child deemed evil.

One of their contacts, missionary Andrew Tonak, told me that Chinwe is one of the most open-hearted people he has met, a mother and leader whose counsel, generosity and instinct to give have touched countless lives. Tonak is 61, and has lived in Kaida village, about 40 miles west of Abuja, since 2000. He recalled visiting women who had just given birth to twins. On his next visit, he would often be told, “The children are no more. They died.” Over the years, he says he has rescued 20 children from the village and neighbouring communities.

By the time some of the children now at Vine Heritage were rescued, they were already weakened by poisoning or severe malnutrition. Most required urgent medical attention. But increasingly, communities are becoming aware of the Stevenses’ work and now bring newborns to them directly, before harm can come to them.

Olusola said: “On their own, they come asking, ‘Please, where is that house where they keep the children?’ And then they bring them.”

Today, Vine Heritage is home to more than 200 children, from newborn to young adults. The oldest, Godiya, is 21 and has been at Vine Heritage since she was a baby. The newest arrival before my visit, a baby born on 27 May 2025, has been fighting for her life in a hospital crib since the day she was brought to the home.

About four years ago, Vine Heritage moved from a cramped facility that was originally designed to accommodate 55 children, to a much larger compound in Gwagwalada, built with funding from the EU in partnership with global charity ActionAid. The home has 18 dedicated staff working in shifts to provide round-the-clock care for the babies and toddlers. In a spacious hall, everyone gathers for morning prayers, group meetings and TV time. (Like any home full of children, there’s a constant battle for control of the remote.)

As I followed Olusola on a tour of the neatly laid-out grounds, he moved in a sprightly fashion, his greying beard framing a warm smile. At the youngest children’s dormitory, a chorus rang out: “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” They are not allowed out unaccompanied, and their small faces were pressed against the windows.

Esther Stevens, 18, who has been living at the home since birth. Photograph: Adesegun Adeokun/The Guardian

The multiple-birth siblings all have names that sound alike: Victor and Victoria, Mabel and Bethel, Zion and Zipporah. Among the youngest residents are triplets named Paul, Pauline and Paulina. Their parents arrived at the home one morning about six months ago, cradling the newborns in their arms. “I asked, ‘Why did you bring them?’ They said, ‘We don’t want them to die,’” Olusola recalled. The parents have visited once since then. They love their children, but fear that if the babies remained in their village, they would be killed.

Esther is clearly a favourite among the younger children. They love to follow her around and clamber on to her back, and as she and I chatted, they hovered close by. Esther knew nothing of her true origins or how she had come to live in the house until she was 14. She had been among the first children to arrive, joining the household in 2007 when there were only nine or 10 others. Olusola and Chinwe have one biological child, Praise, now 24 and studying at university. In those early years, Esther assumed she was also their biological daughter. As more children joined over time, she believed she was simply growing up in an orphanage run by her own parents. All the children bear the surname Stevens. “I knew it was an orphanage home, but I thought I was their real child. I look like mummy,” she said, and she does share some resemblance to Chinwe, with the same complexion.

Esther’s illusion was shattered when members of her biological family unexpectedly arrived at the home. At the time, the missionary who had rescued her as a newborn was preparing to leave the community. Before departing, she contacted Esther’s biological family to ask if they wanted to see where she had taken their child, knowing that once she left, they might never have the chance. “My grandmother came from the village and said she wanted to see me,” Esther recalled. “She wanted to see if I was still alive. When she told my father I was alive, he came to see with his own eyes.”

To prepare her for the meeting, Olusola sat her down and told her the truth about her past. “I was more than shocked,” she said quietly. “I felt sad. I felt bad.” Wanting to know more, Esther asked for her file. She read it cover to cover. What hurt most was discovering that her family had never come for her in all the 14 years she had been there. “Finding out about my parents’ true identity … It was just … I shed tears because they didn’t even care.”

Kaida, a village in Gwagwalada, is the closest community to Abuja’s city centre where there is evidence that infanticide may still sometimes take place. There are no tarred roads to the village, and the route is rough and bumpy, but it is better connected than most. There is a patchy phone signal here.

In Kaida, I met Abubakar Auta, a father of 13 and a husband to two wives. His twins Eric and Erica were sent to Vine Heritage about seven years ago. Like almost every adult in Kaida, Abubakar and his wife, Amina, farm for a living. To supplement their income, Amina digs sand from the river to sell to builders. She arrived to meet me straight from her work, dripping wet, sand clinging to her bare feet. Of her husband’s 13 children, seven are hers. Abubakar said he sent the twins away to “save their mother from suffering”. He believed they would not be safe in Kaida. Speaking to me in Hausa through a interpreter, he explained, “If I had left my children here, people would keep their eyes on them, and that would make them a target.” (Eric later died at the children’s home after falling ill.)

Kaida village has solar power, which provides a few hours of electricity each day for its two clinics: one government-run, the other operated by missionaries trained in community health. The government facility stands silent and empty. Locals say its staff are rarely present. The missionary clinic, by contrast, is alive with activity.

While I was there, a community health worker tended to a woman whose young grandson had a toe injury, the wound still raw and red. The woman had told me earlier on, in her home, that she had previously given birth to three sets of twins. All of them died within months. “They just fell sick,” she said. “In a short time, they were dead.”

Olusola Stevens with some of the children at Vine Heritage Home in Gwagwalada, July 2025.Photograph: Adesegun Adeokun/The Guardian

Her eldest child in his early 20s, sitting nearby, looked up and interrupted. “It was an evil hand that killed them,” he said, his tone defiant. At his words, his mother fell silent and turned her face aside, making it clear she wanted no part in that line of conversation.

The village head described the killing of children as belonging to “a time when people did not know these children were human beings”. He repeatedly used the phrase “in those days” to explain that their “eyes are now open” and such killings no longer happen. (He confirmed that the practice continued until at least a little more than 10 years ago, and that his “those days” referred to the years before then. Lakai has served as village head for the past 26 years.)

Community members are reluctant to speak openly, whether out of fear of stigma, distrust of outsiders, or the sensitivity of exposing cultural taboos. What I was able to piece together from these guarded, euphemistic conversations suggests that decisions involved a mix of family elders and traditional religious leaders. Leo Igwe, the human rights activist, acknowledged the role of patriarchy in situations where women surrender their babies to die. In 2019, ActionAid ran a survey in 57 villages around Abuja in which 16% of male respondents openly expressed support for the practice.

The shroud of secrecy has made it hard to tackle these beliefs. When I contacted various government officials, each one said they had never heard of such practices. Infanticide is against the law, but enforcement is hampered by secrecy and denial. Arinze Orakwue worked for nearly 20 years for the state body responsible for rescuing vulnerable children. From the early 2000s, he visited many communities where infanticide is practised, meeting with traditional chiefs and local leaders in an effort to change entrenched beliefs. “Many of them are living in denial. They tell you that it used to happen in their community a long time ago but it doesn’t happen any more.”

As more children were brought to their home, the Stevenses realised the scale of the problem. In 2013, when they decided to speak publicly about infanticide, the Federal Capital Territory government summoned them, accusing them of spreading falsehoods and damaging Nigeria’s image, just to attract attention and donations. Yet this scepticism faded after officials were shown clear evidence. The government eventually commissioned the couple to run awareness campaigns in the affected communities. They have built new partnerships, most notably with ActionAid. “The greatest problem is denial,” said Andrew Mamedu, ActionAid’s Nigeria head. “The community will insist, ‘Oh, there’s nothing like that.’ But when you go there, you see the evidence. You see the altars to the dead twins. Sometimes, the parents can’t account for their children. They are pregnant and before you know it, they’ve given birth and the baby is gone.”

ActionAid’s approach to the problem was patient, practical and deliberately indirect. Staff set up committees in each community – made up of men and women, young people, traditional rulers and religious leaders – and framed their aim as community development. “We don’t start with infanticide because they would just drive us away,” Mamedu said. The teams began by focusing on livelihoods, education, hygiene and access to healthcare, and only then moved on to tackling infanticide, under the broader banner of maternal and child health. Committee members acted as local advocates. One of their most effective tools was radio, still the most widespread and trusted source of news in northern Nigeria.

Chinwe Stevens at home.Photograph: Adesegun Adeokun/The Guardian

The strategy produced some measurable gains. In two communities ActionAid’s advocacy helped secure government investment in health centres. In four communities, the killings gradually stopped. Parents who had handed over children returned to the home to ask for them back. New local “champions” began to emerge, ordinary people willing to speak up. Still, the effort had its limits. Resistance from influential elders persisted, and when funds ran short in 2022, much of the work was left unfinished.

The Stevenses continue to work closely with missionaries stationed across the area. But not all rescues come through Christian networks. In Godiya’s case, it was a Muslim cleric who stepped in. “The Islamic preacher went to the community to preach and make converts, just like I do,” Olusola recalled. “He saw a child strapped to the dead body of her mother. They were preparing the grave. He asked, ‘Please, this child, what happened?’ They told him she was an evil child, and that their culture was to bury such children with their mothers. He said, ‘Can you permit me? Let me call my pastor friend so he can come and pick up the child.’ So he called me, and we went to the community and took her.”

When the Stevenses first established the Vine Heritage Home, their vision was simple: to raise the rescued children as their own and, once they were older, return them to their communities so they could become agents of change in the very places that had once rejected them. In recent years, 36 children have been returned to their families. In each case, the families themselves came asking for the children. But reintegration is rarely smooth. For one thing, many of these rural communities speak local languages understood by few outsiders.

When Esther visited her family in Dako village for the first time in December 2021, she met her siblings: two older brothers, two older sisters, and a younger sister. She was the only child from her mother, who had been the last of her father’s three wives. Two of her siblings were already married with children. They were glad to see her, but communication was difficult. “I couldn’t talk with them because they speak Basa,” she said. Only her elder brother could speak English, because he was in school.

The contrast in education was stark. When Esther told them she was in her third year of junior secondary school, they thought she was lying; most of the people her age in the village were still in primary school.

At Vine Heritage, every child goes to school. Of the current residents, 182 are enrolled, from primary and secondary pupils to university students like Godiya, who is studying sociology at Nasarawa State University, just across the border from Abuja. Godiya dreams of a career that comes with a uniform – any one will do. Esther has just finished secondary school and hopes to begin university later this year to study law. For many like her, returning to their villages would probably end those dreams.

Sometimes, a compromise is possible. Fifteen-year-old Mabel and Bethel spend their school holidays in Kaida village with their family, then come back to the home once classes resume. Their family first came to reclaim them when they were 10 years old. “I was happy, but I was not happy,” Bethel said. “I was happy that I had seen the place where they gave birth to me, but I was not happy to leave here,” she added. “Whenever I go there, nobody disturbs me, but I always want to come back.”

Beyond communication difficulties, the adjustment to rural life can be harsh. Children accustomed to running water, electricity and regular meals must fetch water from streams, adapt to harder living conditions, and endure the curiosity or suspicion of villagers.

The Stevenses usually wait until they consider the children old enough to understand before telling them how they came to the home. When Godiya turned 17, in 2021, her people came looking for her. “At first I said I was not going to see them because for how many years they did not come,” she recalled.

Gloria, 11, playing with other children at Vine Heritage Home.Photograph: Adesegun Adeokun/The Guardian

“It took us two hours to convince her,” Olusola said. “I pleaded with her, telling her that their coming was a sign of progress.”

Since then, Godiya has stayed in touch with her family, but she only made her first trip back in January 2025. Without proper roads, the only way to reach Bari village was by motorbike. Hours after leaving Gwagwalada, she finally arrived exhausted, and the entire village gathered to stare. “Everybody was just looking at me,” she said. “I didn’t understand the language and the journey was stressful. They were speaking, but I didn’t understand them.”

The youngest of nine children, Godiya was welcomed with joy by her older sisters, who embraced her through tears. They urged her to come back for Christmas, but she was dismayed by the lack of electricity or phone network, and currently has no plans to return.

Esther’s experience in Dako was similar. “When I went to the village, everybody came to see me,” she said. Some of the stares unsettled her. “The community was scary. The way some villagers look at you, as if there’s some evil thought in their mind. I was so scared because I didn’t want anything to happen to me.”

Sometimes, the danger is real. Four years ago, eight-year-old Monday was sent back to his village at his grandfather’s request. Monday’s mother had died giving birth to him. The family had recently converted to Christianity, and after Monday’s father remarried, the grandfather felt it was the right time to bring home the boy once deemed “evil”. But just two weeks later, Monday was returned to Vine Heritage. The elders in the village had been resentful, asking the grandfather how they should feel when others had killed their own children but he had brought his back alive. Fearing for the boy’s safety, the grandfather decided it was better for him to leave. “He called me and said, ‘I am returning your child to you,’” Olusola said.

When a family asks for their child back, the Stevenses try to find out if it is safe for them to return. But they cannot prevent every tragedy. About eight years ago, the Stevenses visited a mother who had recently given birth to an albino girl. She assured them that attitudes towards albinos in her community had changed in recent years, so they did not insist on bringing the new baby to the home. “I was asking questions: has anybody threatened you or the child? She said no,” Olusola recalled. Shortly afterwards, word reached him that the baby had died without explanation. He has never been able to discover what happened.

The years have taken their toll on Chinwe and Olusola. About two years ago, Chinwe’s health began to deteriorate, and Olusola urged her to move into a small flat nearby so she could focus on recovery. During school holidays, two of the oldest children, including Godiya, take turns staying with her, helping with everyday needs, while the others visit in small groups from time to time.

Chinwe has had a stroke, developed high blood pressure and undergoes regular dialysis. I visited her in the modest flat where she lives alone, after spending her entire married life surrounded by dozens of children. She spoke candidly about how she poured herself into caring for others while neglecting her own health. Apart from the small income the Stevens received as missionaries, they earned nothing, relying entirely on donations to care for the children. Now, Chinwe herself depends on donations to cover her medical expenses.

On the walls hang photographs of her in a graduation gown, taken when she earned her doctorate in agriculture from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Another, from two years ago on her 59th birthday, shows her nearly three times her current, frail size. Pointing to one, she said softly, “Look at me then, and look at me now.” She managed a wry laugh.

Olusola said the home had its future leaders among the older children, those willing to step up and already involved in administration and management. Some, he explained, had made it clear that even after graduating from university, they intended to remain committed to running the home. Whenever he was away for meetings, they kept things running. Unless visitors specifically asked to see him, the children received guests, handled day-to-day operations, managed money and accounts, and reported back to him. “The only thing they can’t do is sign cheques,” he said. “I have already told them that in the next 10 years, I will sit back and the home will be in their hands.”

Most donations to Vine Heritage come from individuals. On the day I visited, a donated cow stood in the compound. But with Nigeria’s soaring inflation, now at its highest in nearly three decades, many longtime supporters have cut back or stopped entirely. “Sometimes, when you phone people to remind them of their promise to pay school fees, they get irritated,” Olusola said. “Because of Nigeria’s economy, some of the people that used to support the home before are now finding it difficult.”

Mamedu, at ActionAid, believes the issue is more complex. The challenge, he says, lies in how the home is run. It is neither a formal organisation nor a business. There is no business plan, governance structure, or consistent paperwork like a typical NGO or charity would have. It is registered as a foster home. There are no clear systems for tracking how funds are spent or how accounts are managed.

“We supported the home to try to institutionalise the process,” Mamedu said. “We trained the staff on hygiene, childcare, some record keeping, even partner management. From the start, we told Olusola, let’s have a central way to account for every fund that comes in, so that when we say we don’t have money, it’s backed by proper records. But he tells us that this is not an orphanage; it’s a home.”

ActionAid still supports the home, providing monthly funds for food and covering urgent medical bills for the children. But the future is uncertain. The Stevens’ family-first approach has undoubtedly saved lives and nurtured emotional bonds among the children, Mamedu believes. But the original vision of reintegrating children into their communities appears to have faltered, which means the home keeps growing. Olusola admits that he once believed those communities would be more developed by the time the children grew up. He had expected more progress.

I asked Olusola if he would have done things differently. “When God asks you to do something you only obey,” he said. “It never occurred to me that we would ever have more than 20 children. After saving seven children, we had a pause of about one-and-a-half years, and we thought that would be all. We made our decision that whatever we gave to our biological child, we would give the rest.” But after the seven-year hiatus, Olusola recalled, “the floodgates opened, and more children started coming”.

Source: ‘The children are not safe here’: the Nigerian couple fighting infanticide

The disturbing evidence that witchcraft is spreading across Britain unchecked… 30 years after discovery of horrific voodoo-style murder should have ended it for good

Posted on March 8, 2026 by Dr. F.P.M. van der Kraaij

Warning: the article presented below contains graphic details of torture and murder that some readers may find distressing.

The main thrust of the article presented below was already the focus of an 2014 article which I posted in 2019, Children accused of witchcraft: abuse cases on the rise in UK. More than ten year after the publication of the first-mentioned article there is reason to again draw attention to this terrifying phenomenon. It is difficult to imagine that in our immediate environment children are abused, tortured, and sometimes killed because of the belief in witchcraft of the adult perpetrators, sometimes close relatives.

It all began with the discovery of the mutilated torso of a young boy floating in the river Thames, in 2001. The police gave him the name ‘Adam’ and under this name the poor victim became known worldwide. I have covered in much detail the horrific and sickening discovery and the harrowing story behind it. See my posts entitled The unsolved case of the torso in the Thames, Part I (dated March 25, 2019), Part II (March 27, 2019) and Part III (March 28, 2019).

Unfortunately, the case of ‘Adam’ does not stand alone as the article below amply demonstrates.

We must all be vigilant in identifying signs of child abuse and other crimes promptly and bringing them to the immediate attention of the authorities and relevant agencies. Vulnerable individuals in our society, such as young children, deserve a normal, loving life, free from threats and pain.
(webmaster FVDK)

The disturbing evidence that witchcraft is spreading across Britain unchecked… 30 years after discovery of horrific voodoo-style murder should have ended it for good

Published: February 26, 2026
By: Aidan Radnedge and Nick Pyke, The Daily Mail

A quarter of a century has passed since the death of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie and the shocking realisation that voodoo-style murder and abuse were taking hold in the capital of a modern, affluent democracy.

Victoria met a horrific end. Tortured, beaten with implements including coat hangers and a bike chain, deliberately scalded and forced to sleep in a bin liner in a freezing bathroom, she finally died of multiple organ failure at the age of eight. Her tiny body, weighing just 3st 10lb, was marked by 128 separate injuries.

Her ‘crime’? The girl was said by relatives to have been possessed by ‘kindoki’, or evil spirits, requiring exorcism by a pastor and justifying a campaign of sadistic violence.

The killing in 2000 and the public enquiry that followed should have been seismic: a warning to the public and politicians that, however improbable, belief in witchcraft was emerging as a fact of life in Britain.

Yet today, despite the horror of Victoria’s death and subsequent cases, there is disturbing evidence that ritual violence – involving beliefs and practices overwhelmingly imported from abroad – is continuing to spread unchecked.

The latest official figures show a huge increase in the number of children identified as potential victims of abuse ‘linked to faith or belief’, a category including claims of witchcraft and spirit possession.

Analysis released late last year by the Local Government Association, representing councils and their social services departments in England, found there had been 2,180 cases of possible faith-linked abuse in 2024, a disturbing 49 per cent increase in the seven years since 2017.

Moreover, the true scale of the problem could be significantly worse amid fears that ritual abuse is routinely under-reported because social workers and others wish to avoid being labelled racist.

**Among the most notorious cases was eight-year-old Victoria Climbié, tortured to death in 2000 by relatives who believed she was possessed**

With motives ranging from ignorance and fear to the demented belief that human sacrifice confers supernatural protection, and even wealth, the cases that do reach the public eye are harrowing, the majority with links to sub-Saharan Africa.

A recent documentary film, Kindoki Witch Boy, tells the story of Mardoche Yembi, who had been sent from the Democratic Republic of Congo to live with his aunt and uncle in North London.

At the age of 12, Mardoche was branded a witch by relatives, accused of bringing bad luck and subjected to two months of traumatic exorcisms. The film is now available on YouTube.

An even more disturbing case took place on Christmas Day in 2010, when 15-year-old Kristy Bamu was beaten and drowned by his sister and her boyfriend in the London borough of Newham after being accused of ‘kindoki’, like Victoria Climbie.

Kristy endured four days of torture with knives, sticks, metal bars, a hammer and pliers. He drowned after being forced into a bath for ritual cleansing. Kristy’s siblings were also beaten but survived because they ‘confessed’ to being witches.

Magalie Bamu, then 29, and her partner Eric Bikubi, 28 – both Congolese – were jailed for life in 2012.

In sentencing them, the judge said: ‘The belief in witchcraft, however genuine, cannot excuse an assault to another person, let alone the killing of another human being.’

There are accusations of ‘possession’ in other cultures, too, with cases of abuse reported in Christian, Hindu and Muslim families, where some still believe in the idea of evil spirits known as ‘djinns’.

Just days before Kristy’s Bamu’s murder, Shayma Ali strangled then disembowelled her four-year-old daughter with a kitchen knife during a frenzied attempt to exorcise the girl.

Ali, who had gouged out the eyes of her daughter’s dolls to prevent them ‘seeing evil’, was sent to a mental hospital.

In 2005, two women were jailed at the Old Bailey after being convicted of child cruelty for torturing and threatening to kill an orphaned child refugee from Angola whom they claimed was a witch.

The Old Bailey was told that the girl, known only as Child B, was starved, cut with a knife, beaten with a belt and a shoe and had chilli peppers rubbed in her eyes to drive ‘the devil out of her’.

At one point, the eight-year-old was bundled into a zip-up laundry bag and told she would be ‘thrown away’ into a river. She was rescued after being found in her bare feet, shivering, outside a council house in Hackney.

The cleansing power of water, whether in a bathtub or a river, is a common element in African witchcraft rituals. In 2001, a young boy – later given the name Adam by the police – was pulled from the Thames after a passer-by spotted his mutilated torso floating near Tower Bridge.

His head, arms and legs had been removed in what detectives believe was a ritual killing, potentially as a sacrifice or in a ‘muti’ ceremony, in which body parts are taken in the belief they produce potent magical remedies.

The boy, aged between four and seven and found wearing only a pair of orange shorts, had recently arrived from Nigeria.

Britain’s leading rituals expert, Dr Richard Hoskins, brought into advise on the case, concluded that Adam was a victim of human sacrifice.

**Victoria Climbié had been sent to England by her parents who hoped she would gain a better education than in her native Ivory Coast**

**Victoria’s parents set up the Victoria Climbié Foundation following her death, campaigning for improvements to child protection in the UK**

His 2012 book on the subject, The Boy in the River was serialised in The Mail on Sunday and is now scheduled to be dramatised as a feature film.

Dr Hoskins concluded that the boy had been trafficked to London, speculating that he was butchered while drugged but conscious by a ‘babalawo’ witchdoctor using rituals from the Yoruba people Osagiede of south-west Nigeria.

In Yoruban religion, wrote Dr Hoskins, ‘deities forming a bridge between this world and higher realms require sacrifice.

‘Not necessarily human sacrifice, of course, and especially not nowadays, but the practice persists in some deviant offshoots.’

In 2002, a Nigerian woman called Joyce Osagiede told Glasgow social workers that she had married a member of a cult called The Black Coat Eyes Of The Devil Guru Maharaj.

When later interviewed by British police in Lagos, she said she had been a cult organiser and had bought a pair of orange-red shorts similar to those found on Adam. She added: ‘I know he was killed in Lewisham.’

Osagiede later claimed to an ITV journalist that she had brought Adam to London and that his real name was Ikpomwosa. No one has ever been charged with his murder.

Yet it is the fate of Victoria Climbié that today remains the most notorious case of witchcraft abuse and killing in this country.

Victoria had been sent to England by her parents to gain a better education than in her native Ivory Coast but found only misery and death.

**Victoria Climbié was starved, tortured, beaten with bike chains and kept prisoner in a freezing bathroom by her great-aunt Marie Therese Kouao and her partner Carl Manning (pictured)**

**Marie-Therese Kouao (left), Victoria Climbié’s great-aunt, was complicit in her murder**

Her great-aunt Marie Therese Kouao and her partner Carl Manning were jailed for life in 2001, convicted of murder and child cruelty.

The case was followed by a major public enquiry under Lord Laming which, in turn led to an overhaul of child protection measures in the UK, including the landmark 2004 Children Act.

Even now, ritual violence receives all-too-little attention, says Lancaster University’s Professor Charlotte Baker, who is co-director of the International Network Against Accusations of Witchcraft and Ritual Attacks.

‘If you spoke to many people about this issue, they’d think it was something from about 1,400 years ago,’ she told The Daily Mail last week.

‘Many schoolteachers might feel they shouldn’t ‘go there’, if they suspect something is taking place because they’re not comfortable handling such issues.

‘This needs to be treated seriously, disclosures need to be treated seriously – and the right questions need to be asked.

‘The UK must improve and make sure that anyone who does speak up to make disclosures about this abuse being carried out are taken seriously and responded to professionally.’

Former Conservative MP Tim Loughton, children’s minister in David Cameron’s coalition government and later chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, had his own experience of trying to combat ritual abuse.

**Victoria’s parents Berthe and Francis are pictured at her grave in Kensal Rise Crematorium in London, along with daughter Joelle, in 2003 on the third anniversary of Victoria’s death**

**A boy named Adam’s head, arms and legs were removed in what detectives believe was a ritual ‘muti’ killing – his torso was discovered in the River Thames near Tower Bridge in 2001**

‘The particular problem [at the time] was among communities of migrants from places such as the Congo, which were very closed communities, mostly but not exclusively in London, with very evangelical Christian church settings,’ he recalls.

‘There were very strange practices, all connected with voodoo – abusing children in attempts to drive the devil out of them and all this sort of nonsense.’

During his time in office, he launched a task force on faith-based child abuse, but he fears that official attention has now slipped.

Rohma Ullah, director of the National FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) Centre – which also tackles what it refers to as witchcraft and spirit possession abuse – is among those who believe frontline staff are wary of raising the alarm.

‘Witchcraft and spirit possession are among the most poorly understood areas in child protection,’ she says. ‘That’s really concerning and alarming. We know the data is not good enough and that professionals don’t know how to act. They don’t know what to do.

‘Professionals are anxious about discussing someone’s faith or beliefs because it’s very personal.

‘They fear being accused of being racist, for example – and so questions don’t get asked and opportunities get missed.’

She says that teachers as well as social workers should be alert to signs of abuse – such as, for example, a child appearing tired through having to pray all night to be rid of a devil inside them, or losing weight because food is being withheld at home.

**15-year-old Kristy Bamu was beaten and drowned on Christmas Day 2010 by his sister and her boyfriend in east London after being accused of being a witch**

**Following the murder, Magalie Bamu (left) and Eric Bikubi (right) were jailed for life**

‘I would say the situation is fragmented,’ she continues. ‘Social workers are skilled in safeguarding, teachers are skilled in educating, police officers are skilling in preventing and addressing crime – but they also need to be equipped with specialist knowledge on this particular issue.’

Ms Ullah suggests the current figures, disturbing as they are, ‘probably don’t reflect the true prevalence of something that’s very hidden.’

She believes allegations of witchcraft and spirit possession receive too little attention when abusers to court and suggests they should be flagged as aggravating features when the perpetrators are sentenced.

And witchcraft has now been included for the first time in new toughened-up Crown Prosecution Guidance, published today in a bid to tackle ‘honour’-based abuse, forced marriage and other abuses.

Newly included in guidance for prosecutors are practices such as dowry abuse, immigration-related exploitation, transnational marriage abandonment and spiritual or ritualistic abuse linked to beliefs in witchcraft, spirit possession or demonic influence.

While there is no standalone withcraft-related offence, the Home Office said: ‘Prosecutors must treat these cases as serious criminality within the wider context of harmful practices and “honour”-based abuse, assessing which offences may apply on a case-by-case basis.’

Baljit Ubhey, CPS director of policy, said: ‘Our updated guidance equips prosecutors to identify emerging patterns of abuse, understand the wider context in which it occurs, and take swift, effective action to safeguard victims and bring perpetrators to justice.’

It is not as if we haven’t been warned. It is more than a decade since the United Nations reported: ‘Hundreds of children have been abducted from their families in Africa and trafficked to the UK, especially London. Many are raped and sexually abused.’

Commenting in The Mail on Sunday at the time, Dr Hoskins went further, arguing that ‘London has become the hub, the epicentre for a global trafficking enterprise involving thousands of children for exploitation, sexual abuse and even, in some unspeakable cases, ritual voodoo killing…’

‘There is a vast reservoir of lost children gathering in our own capital anonymously shuffled from flat to shabby flat – a dark pool feeding child exploitation and misery across the planet.’

Today’s evidence suggests that, chillingly, this terrible picture might now be darker still.

Source: The disturbing evidence that witchcraft is spreading across Britain unchecked… 30 years after discovery of horrific voodoo-style murder should have ended it for good

Liberia’s Bishop Kortu Brown calls for Africa-wide campaign to end ritualistic killings at colloquium in Nigeria

Posted on October 28, 2025 by Dr. F.P.M. van der Kraaij

Referring to my recent October 24 post on the same topic, Lagos Calls for United African Action Against Ritual Killings, I draw attention to the below presented article in Liberia‘s leading newspaper, Front Page Africa. It is encouraging that more and more people are so worried about the scourge of ritual killings on the continent, demanding an end to these cruel, inhumane, outdated and criminal practices.
(webmaster FVDK).

Bishop Kortu Brown Calls for Africa-wide Campaign to End Ritualistic Killings at Pepperdine University Human Trafficking Colloquium in Nigeria

Published: October 27, 2025
By: Front Page Africa, Liberia

Brewerville – Faith leaders have been challenged to become agents of change by organizing themselves into a Campaign across the Continent of Africa to ward-off the practice of ritualistic killing and human sacrifice.

The call was made by Bishop Kortu K. Brown, the president of Liberia Council of Churches in Lagos, Nigeria on Friday, October 24, 2025 during a 2-day Colloquium organized by the Sudreau Global Justice Institute at Pepperdine University based in California, USA and Nigeria’s Lagos State Ministry of Justice in the inaugural 2025 Africa Colloquium Against Human Trafficking: A United Front Against Ritual Abuse and Sacrifice.

Bishop Brown who spoke at the fourth session of the colloquium which was intended to explore the role of faith leaders and civil society in combating ritual abuse and sacrifice. The session examined the spiritual dimensions of the practice, including the influence of mysticism and the involvement of traditional healers, witch doctors and diviners in the act of ritual abuse and sacrifice.

The session presented Christian and Muslim perspectives that strongly denounce ritual abuse and sacrifice and emphasized the importance of faith leaders in guiding ethical responses and mobilizing their communities, amongst others.

“This is a serious fight”, Bishop Brown asserted, “and it is as old as Africa itself. If we must address, we must properly mobilize and organize religious leaders across the continent to lead a campaign at the regional, national and community levels to stem the practices of ritualistic killings and human sacrifice in Africa”, he added. The faith actors at the gathering reminded participants that the holy books abhor evil including the shedding of innocent blood and that religious leaders are required by Scriptures to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves, defend the rights of the destitute and the rights of the poor and needy according to Proverbs Chapter 31 verses 8 and 9.

On the question of why ritual abuse and sacrifice is so prevalent in countries with strong Christian and Muslim demographics, Bishop Brown attributed it to many followers of Christianity lacking full faith in God, desiring quick solutions and the beliefs, practices and norms of local communities where they reside that they have not excused themselves, amongst others.

“One of the elements of culture that trigger ritual abuse and sacrifice is the belief that the acts bring benefits”, he said, arguing that “many people believe that ritual abuse and sacrifice can bring them good fortunes, children, appease deities for opportunities, good harvest, victory during electoral processes, etc”

“In Liberia”, he argued, “every time there is an election, stories of ritualistic killings and missing people abound everywhere”. He referenced the campaign he led about four years ago in the country when reports of missing persons were being reported everywhere. (italics added by the webmaster, FVDK).

“People want power but they want other people’s children’s blood to be used to help them acquire political power. This is wrong”, he said, adding, religious leaders must rise across the continent and confront this menace through community sensitization, challenging harmful practices, reframing beliefs and norms, supporting victims and collaborating with other actors to address the practice.”

The organizers, in a statement to participants, hope that the event will mark a critical moment for the future of human trafficking on the African continent. The Executive Director of Sudreau Global Justice Institute, Prof. Cameron McCollum and Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State of Nigeria, Honorable Lawal Pedro San, FCIArb further hoped that the colloquium provided a space for leaders, advocates, practitioners and policymakers to develop strategies to eliminate ritual abuse and sacrifice in Africa and beyond.

The conference was attended by about 200 persons from more than 15 countries in Africa and the United States. The results of the colloquium will be analyzed and reviewed by participants to final a roadmap to deterring ritual abuse and sacrifice across the continent.

Liberia was represented by Church Aid Inc. (CAI) and the Human Trafficking Task Force of Liberia based at the Ministry of Labor of Liberia.

Source: Bishop Kortu Brown Calls for Africa-wide Campaign to End Ritualistic Killings at Pepperdine University Human Trafficking Colloquium in Nigeria

Making Witch Hunting History: Dr. Leo Igwe’s Fight for Justice

Posted on September 27, 2025 by Dr. F.P.M. van der Kraaij

Nigerian human rights activist and lawyer Dr. Leo Igwo needs no introduction on these pages.

Dr. Leo Igwe and I have more in common than a birthday (26 July); we both abhor human rights violations, mob justice, superstition, ritual murders, impunity and other forms of injustice.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dr. Leo Igwe on his relentless fight against superstition, witch hunting and ritual murders, and encourage him to continue to do so.
(webmaster FVDK)

Nigeria – Making Witch Hunting History: Dr. Leo Igwe’s Fight for Justice

Published: September 26, 2025
By: Scott Douglas Jacobsen – The Good Men Project

How can Nigeria’s legal system be strengthened to effectively prosecute witchcraft-related abuses?

Dr. Leo Igwe is a Nigerian human rights advocate, scholar, and founder of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW). With decades of activism, Igwe has dedicated his career to defending those falsely accused of witchcraft, combating superstition, and advancing secular human rights. He has partnered with international and national organizations to confront harmful practices rooted in fear and cultural beliefs, particularly targeting women, children, and people with disabilities. A vocal critic of religious extremism and media sensationalism, Igwe promotes critical thinking, education, and legal reform. His work stands at the intersection of grassroots advocacy, public enlightenment, and global humanism.

In this interview with Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Igwe intensified campaigns across Nigeria in 2025 to defend victims of witchcraft accusations. Through unprecedented collaborations with organizations such as the International Federation of Women Lawyers, the National Human Rights Commission, and disability rights groups, AfAW has expanded its outreach to over 15 states. Initiatives include memorial events, legal interventions, media engagement, and direct support for victims. Despite cultural and religious resistance, Igwe emphasizes that witchcraft is a myth, urging communities to shift from fear-driven persecution to rights-based advocacy. His work highlights growing momentum, though challenges remain entrenched.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Today, we are here with the prolific activist, Dr. Leo Igwe of Nigeria, founder of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW). Our primary focus is advocacy for people accused of witchcraft. A lot has happened this year, and we can dive into some specific events because I have notes. In your view, what have been the most significant achievements so far?

Dr. Leo Igwe: One of the most significant developments this year is that we have organized more meetings and awareness programs than in any previous year since 2020. Even as I speak with you, I am in Port Harcourt, in Rivers State, where we are organizing an awareness event—an event to remember victims of witch hunts and ritual attacks. It is the first of its kind in the country and in the history of our campaign: victims are being remembered rather than demonized.

These victims are not being pre-judged as guilty or condemned. There has also been considerable interest from groups wanting to partner with us. We have seen unprecedented requests and welcoming gestures from different organizations and civil society groups. For instance, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA)—several state chapters—has reached out to co-organize events. Historically, their focus has been on women and children, and accusations of witchcraft were not central; that is changing as AfAW’s work gains traction.

We have also engaged with the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC). Nigeria has 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), and some NHRC state offices are reaching out to co-organize events like the one we are holding on Saturday. They are ready to collaborate to highlight these abuses.

The Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria has also contacted us to partner. They work on disability issues. Unfortunately, people with disabilities are often stigmatized or labelled as “possessed,” which leads to ostracism and harmful so-called “spiritual” interventions.

A recent example that drew national attention was a reported case in Calabar in February 2025, where a pastor allegedly killed his daughter, a child with Down syndrome, claiming she could transform into a snake. Cases like this show how superstition and stigma can turn deadly, and we are working with disability advocates to confront these beliefs and protect vulnerable families.

In terms of people who are accused, demonized, or stigmatized—whether because of disability or because of problems within the community—this has been a significant focus this year. We have now organized or collaborated in organizing events in over 15 states across Nigeria. By next week, we are planning an event in Niger State, in the north of the country. That will be the first event we have organized there, and we hope to use the opportunity to strengthen our partnerships with local groups and build a more robust mechanism for defending the accused.

That said, these collaborations do not come without challenges. For instance, in Niger State, we are partnering with women’s rights and children’s rights groups. They told us they would prefer not to have accused persons present, because their presence might trigger confrontation with accusers or with those who suspect them of being witches. This has been difficult, but we see it as a step toward educating people that everyone should stand as an advocate for the accused.

Many people still hold on to those beliefs and fears, even while showing some sympathy for the accused. However, sympathy is not enough. The accused are innocent. The law is on their side. So we want to find ways to reduce fear and anxiety and encourage communities to join us in openly and categorically supporting those accused of witchcraft.

Our meetings are not always characterized by unanimous support for advocacy on behalf of alleged witches. Sometimes, participants insist that witchcraft oppression is real. For example, at a recent meeting in Owerri, a pastor argued that witchcraft affliction must be addressed.

This is the contradiction we face. People say they oppose torture, killing, and persecution, but at the same time, they continue to insist witches exist. For us at AfAW, this is contradictory. If anyone claims people really are witches, then the burden is on them to prove it—to vindicate or exonerate those accused, rather than subject them to persecution.

Religion and culture also reinforce these challenges. Christianity, Islam, and Nollywood movies all perpetuate the belief that witchcraft and demonic possession are real. These institutions and cultural products continue to fuel the mindset that sustains witchcraft accusations.

In the churches and in the mosques, these harmful ideas are still being promoted. We are working to weaken the grip of these narratives on people’s minds and to chip away at what I call “witchcraft evangelism.” It does enormous damage and undermines our work. We also want people to recognize that Nollywood films and African movies are fiction, not fact.

The filmmakers reflect the myths and beliefs of society, but they are still telling stories, not recording reality. We want to help reorient society so that these movies are understood as cultural fiction. These are some of our successes, but also some of our challenges. Still, we see steady progress as more people begin to realize that something does not add up when it comes to witchcraft accusations. More groups are welcoming us and reaching out to cooperate, so that together we can address and dispel this phenomenon.

Jacobsen: Now, about specifics, in Owerri, Imo State, on September 2–3, we observed the International Day Against Witch Hunts. That was an event reaffirming material and psychosocial support. What was the big takeaway from that event this year?

Igwe: A lot. In Owerri, for the first time, we marched through the streets of the city, sharing flyers and speaking with people about the problem. We also visited the palace of the traditional ruler, Eze Clinton, who received us warmly and pledged his support to our campaign. That was an important milestone.

Another highlight was a presentation by our legal counsel, Mr. Okorie, on witchcraft accusations and the law. In Nigeria, accusing someone of witchcraft is a criminal offence. It is a form of criminal defamation, but most Nigerians are unaware of this—or if they are, they do not take it seriously, because their beliefs often outweigh what is written in the law. Mr. Okorie made it clear that even calling someone a witch can lead to prosecution. If this is done in a church or public gathering, the entire act is criminal.

He gave the example of a crusade organized in Imo State shortly after our event. The theme was “That Witch Must Die.” We reported it to the police, who summoned the pastor, but unfortunately did not prosecute him. Mr. Okorie explained to our participants that such gatherings are legally actionable, and anyone who participates in them could also be held liable. His legal perspective shocked many people, as they were unaware that the law was so clear on this matter.

We also had some victims from different communities share their experiences, which reinforced the urgency of our campaign.

We also heard from victims who recounted their stories and experiences. One woman in particular, Mrs. Regina, told us that after some people in her family died, she was forced to undergo a ritual. They bathed the corpse, washed the body, and gave her the water to drink as an “exoneration” ritual. She is one of the people we are supporting now, trying to provide her with all the necessary help to get back on her feet.

Another experience I had was visiting a street named after a victim of ritual killing, Ikechukwu Okoroho, who was murdered about 30 years ago. A street was named in his memory. I went to that street and to the scene where he was killed, according to reports. These are some of the key takeaways from the Owerri, Imo State event.

Jacobsen: There was also a case intervention in Ebonyi State on August 20, involving the banishment of Joseph Agwu from Unwuhu community. The case called on the state to prosecute the attackers, compensate the victim, and end the practice of banishment. Could you elaborate on that specific case?

Igwe: Yes, Joseph’s case is one of several in Ebonyi. He was accused of witchcraft and banished from his community. His property was destroyed, and he was forced to leave. We reached out to him, and he recounted his ordeal. We are appealing to the state authorities to step in and protect people like him.

Another successful intervention we made was in the case of Mr. Kingsley, who had also been accused. He was paraded through the streets, humiliated, and substances were poured over his body. When we got the information, we immediately contacted the police.

Thanks to that intervention, Kingsley is now back in his community. I met him recently, and he told me how happy and relieved he was. People now look at him with respect rather than the scorn he used to face. This was a real success story.

Of course, not all cases succeed. Sometimes incidents happen in rural communities where it is difficult for us to intervene. Accessing those areas can be dangerous—there are threats of beatings, mob attacks, or even killings. People in those communities often suspect that anyone investigating is there to help the police prosecute them. So yes, we have had some successes, but the challenges remain significant.

Jacobsen: There were also several roundtables. For example, in Ekiti State from August 19 to 21, there was a stakeholder roundtable aligned with the World Day Against Witch Hunts. There were also NHRC partnerships in Kano, Okoro, Ondo, and Yola, Adamawa. Across the year, there were several such meetings—on January 21, March 6, July 21, and August 19–21. What is the role of these roundtables, and what were the key takeaways from each?

Igwe: For the one we held in Yola early in the year, the big takeaway was that too often, when these cases are reported, nothing is done. They appear in the news and then disappear. Victims receive no help or support.

Since 2020, AfAW has been a game-changer. We step in on the side of the accused to support and empower them. In Yola, our message was clear: there is now an organization that stands for the accused. We introduced ourselves, explained what we do, and intervened in a specific case where a parent and his partner tortured a girl to death. The mother had been accused of witchcraft, and the children were said to have “inherited” it from her. The girl was tortured and died. We have been working hard to support the mother and her three surviving children, and to push for justice.

That was our first meeting in Yola, and like with many of these events, participants told us nobody else was doing what we are doing. We know why—few people have the conviction and understanding that we at AfAW bring. However, we made it clear there is now a place where the accused can seek support, and an organization keeping watch on these cases. That was our takeaway from Yola.

In Ondo, we also held an event and combined it with a radio program. A woman named Olaemi Ijogun attended after hearing us on the radio. She told us how she had been accused as a child and beaten. Her case was heartbreaking. She said that both she and her sister had been accused of being initiated into a coven when they were very young.

In Olaemi’s case, the accusations came from a relative who claimed to have seen her and her sister in a dream. The parents were told the girls were going to covens at night. As a result, they were not allowed to sleep. They were forced to kneel and raise their hands through the night because the parents believed that if they slept, they would travel spiritually to the coven. The girls were denied sleep for several nights.

The stigma followed Olaemi to school, where it negatively impacted her social life. She still breaks down when recounting the trauma, which she did at our event. She called on people to stop making accusations because they leave an indelible mark on the minds and psyches of children. Since then, she has been working with us to advocate against witchcraft accusations.

For instance, she joined us in Ekiti State during the World Day Against Witch Hunts event. There, we encountered a case where a 10-year-old girl accused her grandmother of initiating her into a coven and of spiritually murdering people. This accusation was made on the radio after a station invited the family to speak. As a result, the grandmother’s business collapsed, and she was ostracized; the community avoided her. We intervened to reassure her that she had no hand in such things.

The background is that the family’s youngest child, about two years old, had been sick since birth. The grandmother was blamed for the illness. When I interviewed the mother of the 10-year-old, she even told me that the grandmother had “taken away the intelligence” of the children, causing them to do poorly in school, and was also responsible for the family’s financial struggles. In other words, they blamed the grandmother for virtually every problem.

To address this, we provided the family with money to conduct a medical test on the child, so we can determine the real medical problem and treat it appropriately. This shows that we are not only holding events, but also taking practical steps to intervene. We extend solidarity by combining advocacy with direct support. We are helping the grandmother, the victim of the accusation, while also ensuring that the sick child receives medical treatment. These are some of the key outcomes from the Ekiti State event.

Jacobsen: How did the World Day Against Witch Hunts itself go?

Igwe: It was observed on August 10. That year it fell on a Sunday. In Nigeria, the best thing you can do on a Sunday is either go to church or stay at home. Suppose you organize anything else on that day. In that case, it is not likely to attract much participation—except for the few atheists and humanists in the country.

On August 10, the World Day Against Witch Hunts, I attended a church where the pastor regularly preaches against witch hunting. In our work, we identify religious leaders who speak out against these practices. It is not easy, of course, but we make every effort to find such churches. I was told about this one, contacted the pastor, and he confirmed that he preaches against witch hunting. So I went there to listen to his sermon. We also recorded it so that we could use it later to show other churches that this kind of preaching is possible and necessary.

It was a small church, with maybe 50 participants—tiny compared to the massive congregations you see in Nigeria, where tens or even hundreds of thousands gather. That probably explains why this church holds what you might call a minority position in the religious landscape. Still, that was where I spent the day.

Before and after August 10, we have continued organizing events in various states to remember victims of witch hunts and ritual attacks. It has gone well. People are coming out and saying, “At last, there is a space where we can feel vindicated, where we can share our stories in front of an audience that supports us, rather than seeing us as guilty.” That has been the spirit of these gatherings. In fact, we could not accommodate all the events in August, which is why some of them were pushed into September. For us at AfAW, the World Day Against Witch Hunts has not really ended. Our event this Saturday will conclude this year’s cycle of activities tied to that observance.

Jacobsen: Let us turn to the media side of things—ongoing public education, advocacy, op-eds, and briefings. Which news and opinion publications have been most effective in disseminating information about this campaign, the organization, and the harm caused by these superstitions?

Igwe: We have had coverage of our activities in several online and mainstream media outlets. Some journalists have even drawn our attention to cases in which we later intervened. Among Nigerian media organizations, I must mention Sahara Reporters, ThisDay, and The Eagle Online, which have been supportive.

We have also had coverage in other outlets, such as the Nigerian Tribune, Punch, and The Sun. Some of these online and print organizations have tried to highlight the work we are doing.

However, let me be clear—before now, media agencies have overwhelmingly been part of the problem. Their reporting on witchcraft accusations often reinforces the very narratives we are trying to dismantle. This is something I consistently point out to them during media interactions.

Many journalists still report accusations in sensational ways. They tell me the more spectacular, the better—for clicks and traffic. They call it “clickbait.” So, you see headlines like “Witch Crash-Lands” or “Bird-Woman Found in Village.” It is absolute nonsense, but it generates attention. Moreover, in their pursuit of attention, they misinform the public, mislead communities, and do real harm.

These reports are unprofessional and unethical. Journalism should be about reporting facts, and it should be balanced. Instead, in their quest for traffic, media houses end up endangering lives. For example, there was a radio program where a child accused her grandmother of initiating her into witchcraft. We intervened, and when we left, the station manager admitted to me, “Leo, it was this radio program that caused the problem.” He realized it had put an innocent woman in danger and destroyed her socially.

So yes, the media have been part of the problem. However, with the kind of engagement we are doing at the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW), some outlets are beginning to rethink. Some are realigning and realizing just how unprofessional and unethical their reporting has been. They are slowly starting to highlight our perspective. However, we still have a long way to go. Nigerian media organizations still thrive on sensationalism.

The media still thrives on sensational headlines—stories designed to attract attention and appeal to primitive superstitions that people find exciting. Slowly and steadily, some outlets are beginning to support what we are doing. However, there is still a tremendous amount of work ahead.

Another challenge is this: while media agencies are quick to publish sensational, false, and misleading reports about witchcraft—often for free—when we want to put forward our perspective, they demand large sums of money. Both online and broadcast outlets do this.

For example, if we want to appear on television, they charge between $500 and $1,000 just for the appearance. Additionally, you may need to travel, pay for flights, and cover accommodation costs. This makes enlightenment and advocacy extremely expensive, even though it is precisely what the country needs to counter these harmful narratives.

Jacobsen: Do you have any final points on that last topic?

Igwe: Yes, while a few media organizations are beginning to report witchcraft accusations more responsibly—rather than treating witchcraft itself as a fact or as a “certified” part of African culture—the progress is limited. Some outlets are starting to understand AfAW’s position and provide more balance. However, we are still far from the cultural shift we need. That kind of change will not happen through one report or even one event. It requires intensive public education and sustained enlightenment.

Unfortunately, in this area, many media stations have not been supportive. They are quick to publish sensational stories, like “an elderly woman turned into a bird” or “a witch crash-landed on her way to a meeting,” as was recently reported in Delta State. These kinds of stories get free publicity.

However, when AfAW attempts to purchase airtime to educate the public, we encounter significant costs. Media outlets charge us considerable amounts of money, making enlightenment campaigns very expensive. The imbalance is stark: free space for superstition, but costly barriers for rational education.

Meanwhile, churches and religious organizations that actively promote witchcraft narratives are given abundant airtime. They advertise events with themes like “That Witch Must Die” or “Exposing the Mysteries of Witchcraft.” These programs receive free promotion, which reinforces harmful beliefs.

By contrast, when we present our position—saying plainly that witchcraft is a myth—we are given little space, asked to pay heavily, and sometimes even put under pressure during media interviews. The pressure is on us to “prove” that something imaginary does not exist, instead of challenging those who claim it does.

The media landscape is still heavily skewed toward reinforcing witchcraft beliefs. We have not yet reached the paradigm shift where media establishments themselves start questioning and dismantling these narratives. That remains the challenge before us.

The cultural shift we need will only come when the media itself transforms. Until then, they will not welcome our programs in the way they should. Even when we pay for airtime, they often schedule us in the middle of the day, when people are busy at work. They refuse to give us prime slots in the evening or late at night—times when churches preach about witchcraft to audiences at home around the dinner table.

Without media on our side, we cannot fully succeed in making witch-hunting history in this region. That is why this work is so critical.

Jacobsen: There was a memorial action on August 29, connected to victims of ritual killings. You visited a hotel site linked to one of those incidents, to connect memory with today’s anti–witch hunt work. Could you explain what happened at that hotel, and how many victims are we talking about?

Igwe: I visited because of the incident that happened there in September 1996, almost 29 years ago. What happened then is still happening today. For example, earlier this year, in February 2025, in Lagos, a young man murdered his girlfriend, used an axe to break her head, and drained her blood into a calabash, supposedly for rituals. That case mirrors what happened at the Otokoto Hotel in 1996.

At Otokoto, the victim was an 11-year-old boy who sold peanuts on the streets. A hotel gardener lured him inside, gave him a drugged drink, and when the boy became unconscious, he cut off his head. The man was apprehended while attempting to deliver the head to someone who had ordered it for ritual purposes.

The news caused a massive uproar. There were riots in the city, and people began burning the houses of those suspected of being involved.

The people labelled as “ritualists,” in other words, those involved in ritual syndicates or racketeering, were the focus of that uproar. My visit to the Otokoto Hotel aimed to remind the people of Imo State that this practice has been ongoing for far too long and must come to an end.

The government seized the hotel property, and today it is used by the police. Not far from the police station, there is a street named after the young boy who was murdered. Those responsible were eventually arrested, and some received life imprisonment while others were sentenced to death.

I visited that property to show that the same problem we saw nearly three decades ago is still with us today—only in new forms. Now, people kill their girlfriends, relatives, or acquaintances for what they call organ harvesting. They believe specific organs can be used in rituals to produce wealth, success, or power.

The narratives of religion, miracles, magic, and supernatural intervention fuel these beliefs. All of them reinforce the idea that ritual killings can deliver prosperity. What we are confronting is a Herculean task—a complex, many-headed monster of superstition and fear. Only the flame of reason, compassion, critical thinking, and skeptical inquiry can provide hope for society and for the victims.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Leo.

Source: Making Witch Hunting History: Dr. Leo Igwe’s Fight for Justice

Nigeria: Ogun State and the death penalty

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Dr. F.P.M. van der Kraaij

To the already long list of Nigerian States which have allowed the death penalty as ultimate sanction for ritual killers – see my March 6 post – we should add Ogun State. The following article is chrystal clear: people are fed up with the terrorism of unscrupulous ritualists, cultists, kidnappers, armed robbers, etc.

The author of the article presented below, Eli Jah Udofia, writes that “Since the return to democratic rule in Nigeria about 26 years ago, it is on record that no Nigerian governor has signed and ordered the execution of condemned criminals despite being empowered by the nation’s constitution.” He continues, with (quote) “Refusal or unwillingness to sign execution orders have no doubt contributed to the high rise of heinous crimes that most often led to loss of lives because in a situation where the Biblical “an eye for an eye” injunction is not followed to the letter and where justice is not seen to have been served, it emboldens criminals to commit more heinous crimes, “after all nothing go happen”. Unquote

The capital punishment as deterrent or as revenge?

Whatever the answer to this question, I – personally – am not convinced that the execution of condemned ritual murderers will significantly decrease the number of murders for ritual purposes (‘money ritual’) in Nigeria.

What is needed is an educational campaign aimed at eradicating superstition, in combination with the rule of law, respecting international agreements and human rights.
(webmaster FVDK)

Background information:

Ogun State is located in the South West geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Nigeria is divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones). With a surface area of 16,762 km2 Ogun State ranks 24th (out of 36 states) and with a population of about 7 million people in 2024 it occupies the 13th position.

The majority of the population belongs to the Yoruba ethnic group, their language being the lingua franca of the state. The dominant religions in Ogun State are majority Islam and minority Christianity although a certain amount of traditional religion is still practiced.

The capital of Ogun State is Abeokuta.

Ogun State and the death penalty option

Published: March 11, 2025
By: Eli Jah Udofia – Independent, Nigeria

There is no doubt that killings and acts of killings have become the order of the day in Nigeria. Apart from death in the hands of terrorists, the lives of Nigerians are daily been cut short by ritualists, cultists, kidnappers, armed robbers, etc.

From the North to the South, East to West, it is one killing after the other. It is either husband killing his wife or the wife killing her husband; father killing his daughter or son killing his mother. It so appalling that one begins to wonder when the country became a jungle, where life is so cheap. Even in the jungle, animals do not kill each other for the fun of it except for food and defending territories.

In Nigeria today, killing has become a hobby or a pass time for some people. While ritualists kill and harvest body parts for money making rituals, some kill to take possession of the deceased property. Others, like cultists, carry out revenge killing or kill to show superiority while others kill for ransom.

About two years ago, the media, both traditional and new, was awash with the story of how a boy who resides in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, connived with his friends, killed his girl-friend and used the head for money ritual purposes after disposing the body by burning. Sometimes one begins to wonder the benefits of these senseless killings or is it that humans have lost their humanity?

Also in Ogun State, in the middle of last year, three Indians and a Nigerian were kidnapped along the Ijebu- Ode-Ore road but were lucky to be rescued by men of the Nigeria Police. Similarly, not too long ago, the wife of Retd. Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mrs. Folasade Odumosu, was kidnapped on her way to work and the sum of N40m demanded for her release.

Apart from kidnapping, cult related killings are also rampant in places like Abeokuta, the State capital, Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode. Cultists reign of terror saw the killings of rival members and sometimes cut short the lives of innocent people.

The question now is, when did Nigeria and Nigerians descend to this abysmal low in morality? Can this be attributed to exposure to modernity, technology or influence of social Media? What really went wrong in the past few decades that people no longer regards life as sacred?

Though the Nigeria’s legal system is noted for undue and prolong delays in delivering justice, it has also made some landmark judgements especially in cases involving murders and the likes by passing death sentences on those who took other people’s lives.

On the third of February, 2025, an Ogun State High Court sitting in Abeokuta, sentenced he trio of Lekan Adekanbi, Ahmed Odetola, and Waheed Adeniyi to death by hanging for the murder of Kehinde Fatinoye, his wife, Bukola Fatinoye, and their son, Oreoluwa, on January 1, 2023.

The Fatinoyes were attacked at their Ibara GRA residence shortly after returning from a crossover church service. Led by their driver, Adekanbi, the assailants broke into the home around 2 am, murdered the couple and set both their bodies and the house on fire.

Not done, the attackers also tied up their son, Oreoluwa, along with an adopted son, before throwing them into the Ogun River. While Oreoluwa unfortunately lost his life, the adopted son miraculously survived.

After their arrest by the police, Adekanbi, in an interview with journalists, admitted spearheading the attack, citing his employers’ refusal to increase his salary or grant him a loan request.

Many Nigerians observed with dismay that death row inmates remain in prisons for years, living off taxpayers’ money after the death sentence had been passed on them. Concerns have also arisen over the government reluctance to sign execution orders—a trend that has left many death row inmates languishing in correctional facilities indefinitely.

Since the return to democratic rule in Nigeria about 26 years ago, it is on record that no Nigerian governor has signed and ordered the execution of condemned criminals despite being empowered by the nation’s constitution. This act is quite contrary to what obtained during the military era where Military Administrators or Governors approved execution once the death sentence was pronounced by competent Courts.

Refusal or unwillingness to sign execution orders have no doubt contributed to the high rise of heinous crimes that most often led to loss of lives because in a situation where the Biblical “an eye for an eye” injunction is not followed to the letter and where justice is not seen to have been served, it emboldens criminals to commit more heinous crimes, “after all nothing go happen”.

Disturbed by this ugly trend and the need to eradicate incidences of violent crimes like kidnapping, cultism, ritual killings and the likes as well as ensure that victims of these crimes get justice, the State government is considering a drastic action by looking at the death penalty option through signing Death Warrants of those sentenced to death by competent Courts.

The State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Oluwasina Ogungbade (SAN), gave this indication and expressed concern on the increase in criminal activities in recent times in the State.

According to Mr. Ogungbade, government is ready to take the bull by the horns by implementing the law by signing the Death Warrants.

He observed that despite the proactive measures put in place by security agencies in tackling crimes, there appears to be an upsurge particularly in ritual killings, adding that government has identified the wrong perception that there will be no repercussions when some of these crimes are committed to be the root cause.

“I can tell you that we are looking seriously at this as a means of sending across a message that Ogun State is not a place where you can come and commit such serious crimes and get away with it.

“It is part of the duty of the governor to sign Death Warrants and I am certain that when he took that oath of office, he took it knowing full well the responsibilities that come with it and he is a governor that uphold the rule of law so I can assure that in deserving cases, he will not shirk away from that constitutional duty.”

Ogungbade believes that if somebody has gone through the process of fair trial, made use of all his appeals, then “we will begin to look seriously at implementing those judgements hoping that it will serve as a deterrent to those who still intend on carrying out such crimes. But in doing so, I can assure you that we will be systematic about it, we will not be reckless about it.”

From time immemorial, society has always found a way of dispensing justice and death penalty has always been a way of ensuring that those who commit serious crimes especially the ones that involve human lives pay dearly for them.

It is often said that “drastic situation requires drastic solution” and since criminals have decided not to heed several warnings of Governor Dapo Abiodun, who on many occasions, advised them to turn a new leaf, then it is time for them to begin to face the hangmen’s noose.

*Udofia writes from Laderin, Abeokuta

Source: Ogun And The Death Penalty Option

Nigeria: religious leaders bemoan surge in ritual killings among clerics

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Dr. F.P.M. van der Kraaij

The following report illustrates well how widespread killing for ritualistic purposes is in Nigeria.

Ritual murders occur in all parts of the country, both in the predominantly christian south of the country and the islamic north, and are committed by educated and uneducated people, and by ‘ordinary’ people as well as high-placed persons, in traditional, political and religious organizations.

Despite this disturbing phenomenon, it is important and useful to emphasize also that the majority of the population abhor the cruel, outdated and criminal practices based on superstition, greed, and tradition, often facilitated or covered by the backing or involvement of ‘higher-ups’, resulting in a revolting impunity of these atrocities.
(webmaster FVDK)

Religious leaders bemoan surge in ritual killings among clerics

•Teenage suspects arrested for the murder of a female teenager in Ogun Photo: File copy

Published: March 1, 2025
By: Imoleayo Oyedeji – Punch, Nigeria

Christian and Islamic leaders have expressed concerns over the increasing cases of suspected ritual killings involving clerics across the country, attributing the disturbing trend to greed, and economic hardship.

Last week, an acclaimed Islamic cleric, Abdulrahman Bello, gruesomely murdered a final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, Hafsoh Lawal.

According to the Kwara State Police Command, the 29-year-old suspect killed Lawal and dismembered her for alleged ritual purposes at a location in the Olunlade area of Ilorin on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.

On January 23, the Rivers State Police Command arrested two pastors, Prophet Bassey Umoren (60) and Prophet Elijah Anietie (50), after discovering fetish items—including caskets, monkey skulls, carved skeletons, and other ritual materials—inside their churches.

Several cases of ritual killings were also recorded in 2024, including the arrest of an Islamic cleric, Oluwafemi Idris, popularly known as Alfa, by the Ondo State Police Command. He was caught with human parts, including hands, kidneys, and tongues.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, some religious leaders attributed the relentless pursuit of wealth, power, and economic desperation as the driving forces behind the gruesome acts.

Archbishop of the Methodist Diocese in Lagos, Most Rev. Isaac Olawuyi, decried the killings, noting that it was fueled by an insatiable hunger for fame and fortune.

He said some pastors saw their ministry as money-making enterprises, hence their desperation to get money at all cost.

Olawuyi said, “We have seen cases where pastors kill their church members and use their body parts either to expand their congregation or gain supernatural power. Some clerics even engage in ritual practices purely for financial gain.

“It is unfortunate, but it happens because some pastors see ministry as a money-making enterprise. They are willing to do anything to grow their church and personal wealth. Today, many people enter clerical work, ministries, and prophecy with no divine calling—only the ambition to enrich themselves.”

Similarly, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Lagos, Bishop Stephen Adegbite, condemned the ritual killings, stating that clerics involved in such practices were driven not by greed and deception.

He described the clerics involved in ritual killings as agent of darkness.

“A true servant of God would never take a human life. The Bible and the Quran are clear: ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ So, anyone engaging in ritual killings—whether Christian or Muslim—is not a minister of God. They are agents of darkness in clerical robes, and we must not mistake them for true men of God.

“If caught, they should face the full weight of the law. The church stands vehemently against such evil, and I am certain Islam forbids it as well. Such practices have no place among believers, let alone religious leaders,” he said.

In his comment, the Chief Imam of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Prof. Idris Ayinde, noted that many of the Muslims involved in ritual killings were young clerics who lack wisdom to complement their religious knowledge.

Ayinde said many young men who study Islamic theology end up tarnishing the image of Islam because they rush into leadership without acquiring wisdom.

“Learning wisdom requires sacrifice and patience—gaining insight from personal experiences of a tutor. This cannot be taught academically. However, many young clerics today refuse to serve under experienced scholars. They lack the humility to learn and grow,” he said.

Ayinde added, “In Islam, we believe whoever is destined to be rich will be rich. Islam encourages hard work, but it is Allah who grants success. Some people’s hard work may correlate directly with their prosperity, while for others, it may not.

However, no one should seek shortcuts to wealth. Islam does not condone any backdoor approach to riches. Any so-called scholar who engages in ritual killings cannot be considered a true Muslim, as Allah strictly forbids such acts.”

Source: Religious leaders bemoan surge in ritual killings among clerics

A manifesto for a skeptical Africa

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Dr. F.P.M. van der Kraaij

The article presented below, written by the famous Nigerian human rights activist and humanist Dr. Leo Igwe, is a must-read. His manifesto is highly recommended to all readers. It is more than a reflection, it is more than a plea, it is more than a cry – for change or for understanding. As Dr. Igwe writes: “Africans must begin to think freely in order to ‘emancipate themselves from mental slavery’ and generate ideas that can ignite the flame of an African enlightenment.” And Dr. Igwe is not alone, he is not the only one who firmly believes this approach is the only way for Africa and Africans to move forward – as can be concluded from the list of African endorsers and other endorsers from around the world, presented at the end of his article.

Enough words written to recommend a piece that you shouldn’t miss! Enjoy the reading, and … spread the word!

PS Unfortunately, a few links in the original article are broken and/or not working properly (webmaster FVDK).

A Manifesto for a Skeptical Africa

What are the prospects for a more secular Africa, more skeptical Africa, more scientific Africa, i.e., a more humanistic Africa?

Published: December 2, 2023
Written By: Dr. Leo Igwe – Publshed By: Scott Douglas Jacobsen

For too long, African societies have been identified as superstitious, consisting of people who cannot question, reason or think critically. Dogma and blind faith in superstition, divinity and tradition are said to be the mainstay of popular thought and culture. African science is often equated with witchcraft and the occult; African philosophy with magical thinking, myth-making and mysticism, African religion with stone-age spiritual abracadabra, African medicine with folk therapies often involving pseudoscientific concoctions inspired by magical thinking. Science, critical thinking and technological intelligence are portrayed as Western — as opposed to universal — values, and as alien to Africa and to the African mindset. An African who thinks critically or seeks evidence and demands proofs for extraordinary claims is accused of taking a “white” or Western approach. An African questioning local superstitions and traditions is portrayed as having abandoned or betrayed the essence of African identity. Skepticism and rationalism are regarded as Western, un-African, philosophies. Although there is a risk of overgeneralizing, there are clear indicators that the continent is still socially, politically and culturally trapped by undue credulity.

Many irrational beliefs exist and hold sway across the region. These are beliefs informed by fear and ignorance, misrepresentations of nature and how nature works. These misconceptions are often instrumental in causing many absurd incidents, harmful traditional practices and atrocious acts. For instance, not too long ago, the police in Nigeria arrested a ‘robber’ goat which they said was a thief who suddenly turned to a goat. A Nigerian woman was reported to have given birth to a horse. In Zambia, a local school closed temporarily due to fears of witchcraft. In Uganda, there are claims of demonic attacks in schools across the country. Persecution and murder of alleged witches continue in many parts of the continent. Many Africans still believe that their suffering and misfortune are caused by witchcraft and magic. In Malawi, belief in witchcraft is widespread. Ritual killing and sacrifice of albinos and other persons with disabilities take place in many communities, and are motivated by paranormal belief. Across Africa people still believe in the potency and efficacy of juju and magic charms. Faith-based abuses are perpetrated with impunity. Jihadists, witch-hunters and other militants are killing, maiming and destroying lives and property. Other-worldly visions and dogmatic attitudes about the supernatural continue to corrupt and hamper attempts by Africans to improve their lives. Even with the continent’s ubiquitous religiosity, many African states are to be found at the bottom of the Human Development Index and on the top of the poverty, mortality and morbidity indices.

Recently Africa was polled as the most devout region in the world, and this includes deep devotion to the continent’s various harmful superstitions. Devoutness and underdevelopment, poverty, misery and superstition co-exist and co-relate. It should be said that the dominant religious faiths in the region are faiths alien to the continent. That means African Christians are more devout than Europeans whose missionaries brought Christianity to Africa. African Muslims are more devout than Muslims in the Middle East, whose jihadists and clerics introduced Islam to the region.

Meanwhile, whatever good these foreign belief systems may have brought to or done in Africa can only be unfavorably compared to the damage and darkness they have caused and are still causing in the region. Some paranormal or supernatural claims of the two main religions of Christianity and Islam are part of the factors holding Africans hostage. Most Africans cannot think freely or express their doubts openly because these religions have placed a huge price on freethinking and critical inquiry. Because these belief systems rely on paranormal claims themselves, Africans feel they cannot speak out against superstition as a whole, or they will be ostracized or even killed by religious zealots. Belief in demonic possession, faith healing, and the “restorative” power of holy water can have deadly consequences for believers and whole communities. Africans must reject superstitious indoctrination and dogmatization in public institutions. Africans need to adopt this cultural motto: Dare to think. Dare to doubt. Dare to question everything in spite of what the superstitious around you teach and preach.

Africans must begin to think freely in order to ‘emancipate themselves from mental slavery’ and generate ideas that can ignite the flame of an African enlightenment.

The two dominant religions have fantastic rewards for those who cannot think, the intellectually conforming, unquestioning and obedient, even those who kill or are killed furthering their dogmas. They need to be told that the skeptical goods — the liberating promises of skeptical rationality — are by far more befitting and more beneficent to Africans than imaginary rewards either in the here and now or in the hereafter. Today the African continent has become the new battleground for the forces of a dark age. And we have to dislodge and defeat these forces if Africa is to emerge, grow, develop and flourish. To some people, the African predicament appears hopeless. The continent seems to be condemned, doomed and damned. Africa appears to be in a fix, showing no signs of change, transformation and progress. An African enlightenment sounds like a pipe dream.

But I do not think this is the case — an African Age of Reason can be on the horizon! The fact is that there are many Africans who reason well and think critically. There are Africans who are skeptics and rationalists1. But active African skeptics are too few and far apart to form the critical mass the continent needs to experience a Skeptical Spring. Nonetheless, the momentum is building slowly and steadily. And one can say that an African skeptical awakening is in sight. As it is said: the darkest part of the night precedes the dawn. So there is no need to despair for humanity in Africa. There is every reason to be optimistic and hopeful. After all, Europe went through a very dark period in its history, in fact, a darker and more horrible phase than that which Africa is currently undergoing. Still the European continent survived to experience Enlightenment and modern civilization. Who ever thought that the Arab Spring would happen in our lifetime? So, African enlightenment can happen sooner than we expected. But it will not happen as a miracle. African enlightenment will not fall like manna from heaven. It requires — and will continue to require — hard work, efforts, sacrifice, courage and struggle by Africans and other friends who are committed to the values of enlightenment. In Europe, skeptics spoke out against harmful superstition, and unfounded dogma and caused the dawn of a new awakening. African skeptics need to speak out against the forces of dogma, irrationalism and superstition ravaging the continent. Skeptics need to organize and mobilize — online and offline — to further the cause of reason, science and critical thinking. They need to speak out in the media and to politicians about the harm resulting from undue credulity and challenge and confront the charlatans directly to put up or shut up. Skeptics can no longer afford to keep quiet or remain indifferent in the face of a looming dark age. They need to campaign for a reform of the educational system and encourage the teaching of critical thinking in schools.

Many charlatans operate out there in their communities. They ‘mine’ popular fears and anxieties, exploiting desperate, misinformed folks. We need to expose them and free our people from their bondage. African skeptics cannot remain passive and inactive and expect skeptical rationality to thrive and flourish or expect the forces of dogma and superstition to simply disappear. The situation requires active engagement by committed skeptics. That was how the much-talked-about skeptical tradition in the Western world was established and is sustained.

That is how we are going to build and leave a skeptical legacy for Africa.

This is a call to duty to all African skeptics in Africa and in the diaspora. History has thrust on us this critical responsibility which we must fulfill. Let us therefore marshal our will to doubt, to advance skepticism in the interest of Africa. Let us marshall other intellectual resources and cause this new dawn — this skeptical awakening to happen early in this 21st century.

African skeptics arise.

1 Skeptical and rationalist groups are gaining ground in Africa. Here are a few worth supporting:

African Endorsers

George Thindwa, Executive Director, Association for Secular Humanism, Malawi
Mandla Ntshakala, Activist, Swaziland
Jacques Rousseau, Lecturer, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Ebou Sohna, Gambia Secular Assembly, Gambia
Graham Knight, Humanist Association of Ghana, Accra Ghana
Olajide Akeredolu MD, Lagos, Nigeria
Jes Petersen, Director, Springboard Humanism, Botswana
Wilfred Makayi, Humanist Activist, Zambia
James Ibor, Attorney, Basic Rights Counsel, Calabar, Nigeria
Robert Bwambale, Founder & Executive Director, Kasese United Humanist Association,
Uganda
Kato Mukasa, HALEA, Kampala, Uganda

Other Endorsers from Around The World

James Randi, Founder, James Randi Educational Foundation, USA
Michael Shermer, Executive Director, Skeptics Society, USA
Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, USA
D.J. Grothe, President, James Randi Educational Foundation, USA
Paul Kurtz, Founder, Institute for Science and Human Values, USA
Toni Van Pelt, Policy Director, Institute for Science and Human Values
Hemant Mehta, Blogger, Friendly Atheist
Susan Sackett, Writer and Vice President of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, USA
Sonja Eggerickx President, International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), Belgium
Josh Kutchinsky, founder and co-moderator Hummay, International Humanists
Support egroup
Ophelia Benson, Author and Blogger, USA
Guy P. Harrison, Writer, USA
Ike Francis, Human Rights Activist, USA
Lorann Sims-Nsimba, Africa Awake Freethought Alliance, USA
Matt Cherry, International Representative, International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU)
Bob Churchill – International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), UK
Norm Allen, International Outreach Director, Institute for Science and Human Values, USA
Dr Bill Cooke, Director of International Programs for the Center for Inquiry, USA
Canberra Skeptics Inc, Australia
Australian Skeptics (Victorian Branch)
John Perkins, The Secular Party of Australia

More signatories to be added in the future.

Source: A Manifesto for a Skeptical Africa

World Day Against Witch Hunts

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Dr. F.P.M. van der Kraaij

August 10 is World day against witch hunts.

During the past five years I have frequently posted on this sad topic. See e.g. the following posts: Witchcraft Persecution and Advocacy without Borders in Africa, earlier this year, as well as the following country-specific postings: DRC, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe.

Although not the main focus of this website I find it useful and necessary to draw attention to this phenomenon which is based on superstition, violates human rights and creates many innocent victims – not only elderly women and men but also children, just like ritual murders.

I wish to commend Charlotte Müller and Sertan Sanderson of DW (Deutsche Welle) – see below – for an excellent article on this topic. It’s an impressive account of what happens to people accused of witchcraft and victims sof superstition.
(FVDK)

World Day Against Witch Hunts: People With Dementia Are Not Witches

Published: August 4, 2023
By: The Ghana Report

August 10 has been designated World Day against Witch Hunts. The Advocacy for Alleged Witches welcomes this development and urges countries to mark this important day, and try to highlight past and contemporary sufferings and abuses of alleged witches in different parts of the globe.

Witchcraft belief is a silent killer of persons. Witchcraft accusation is a form of death sentence in many places. People suspected of witchcraft, especially women and children, are banished, persecuted, and murdered in over 40 countries across the globe. Unfortunately, this tragic incident has not been given the attention it deserves.

Considered a thing of the past in Western countries, this vicious phenomenon has been minimized. Witch persecution is not treated with urgency. It is not considered a global priority. Meanwhile, witch hunting rages across Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

The misconceptions that characterized witch hunting in early modern Europe have not disappeared. Witchcraft imaginaries and other superstitions still grip the minds of people with force and ferocity. Reinforced by traditional, Christian, Islamic, and Hindu religious dogmas, occult fears and anxieties are widespread.

Many people make sense of death, illness, and other misfortunes using the narratives of witchcraft and malevolent magic. Witch hunters operate with impunity in many countries, including nations with criminal provisions against witchcraft accusations and jungle justice.

Some of the people who are often accused and targeted as witches are elderly persons, especially those with dementia.

To help draw attention to this problem, the Advocacy for Alleged Witches has chosen to focus on dementia for this year’s World Day against Witch Hunts. People with dementia experience memory loss, poor judgment, and confusion.

Their thinking and problem-solving abilities are impaired. Unfortunately, these health issues are misunderstood and misinterpreted. Hence, some people treat those with dementia with fear, not respect. They spiritualize these health conditions, and associate them with witchcraft and demons.

There have been instances where people with dementia left their homes or care centers, and were unable to return or recall their home addresses. People claimed that they were returning from witchcraft meetings; that they crash landed on their way to their occult gatherings while flying over churches or electric poles.

Imagine that! People forge absurd and incomprehensible narratives to justify the abuse of people with dementia. Sometimes, people claim that those suffering dementia turn into cats, birds, or dogs. As a result of these misconceptions, people maltreat persons with dementia without mercy; they attack, beat, and lynch them. Family members abandon them and make them suffer painful and miserable deaths. AfAW urges the public to stop these abuses, and treat people with dementia with care and compassion.

Source: World Day Against Witch Hunts: People With Dementia Are Not Witches

And:

Witch hunts: A global problem in the 21st century

Accusations of witchcraft typically affect the most vulnerable — such as this refugee living in the DRC
*Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Scoppa*

Published: August 10, 2023
By: Charlotte Müller | Sertan Sanderson – DW

Witch hunts are far from being a thing of the past — even in the 21st century. In many countries, this is still a sad reality for many women today. That is why August 10 has been declared a World Day against Witch Hunts.

Akua Denteh was beaten to death in Ghana’s East Gonja District last month — after being accused of being a witch. The murder of the 90-year-old has once more highlighted the deep-seated prejudices against women accused of practicing witchcraft in Ghana, many of whom are elderly.

An arrest was made in early August, but the issue continues to draw attention after authorities were accused of dragging their heels in the case. Human rights and gender activists now demand to see change in culture in a country where supernatural beliefs play a big role.

But the case of Akua Denteh is far from an isolated instance in Ghana, or indeed the world at large. In many countries of the world, women are still accused of practicing witchcraft each year. They are persecuted and even killed in organized witch hunts — especially in Africa but also in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Many women in Ghana are pushed to live in so-called witch camps because they are rejected by society *Image: picture-alliance/Pacific Press/L. Wateridge*

Witch hunts: a contemporary issue

Those accused of witchcraft have now found a perhaps unlikely charity ally in their fight for justice: the Catholic missionary society missio, which is part of the global Pontifical Mission Societies under the jurisdiction of the Pope, has declared August 10 as World Day against Witch Hunts, saying that in at least 36 nations around the world, people continue to be persecuted as witches.

While the Catholic Church encouraged witch hunts in Europe from the 15th to the 18th century, it is now trying to shed light into this dark practice. Part of this might be a sense of historical obligation — but the real driving force is the number of victims that witch hunts still cost today.

Historian Wolfgang Behringer, who works as a professor specializing in the early modern age at Saarland University, firmly believes in putting the numbers in perspective. He told DW that during these three centuries, between 50,000 and 60,000 people are assumed to have been killed for so-called crimes of witchcraft — a tally that is close to being twice the population of some major German cities at the time.

But he says that in the 20th century alone, more people accused of witchcraft were brutally murdered than during the three centuries when witch hunts were practiced in Europe: “Between 1960 and 2000, about 40,000 people alleged of practicing witchcraft were murdered in Tanzania alone. While there are no laws against witchcraft as such in Tanzanian law, village tribunals often decide that certain individuals should be killed,” Behringer told DW.

The historian insists that due to the collective decision-making behind these tribunals, such murders are far from being arbitrary and isolated cases: “I’ve therefore concluded that witch hunts are not a historic problem but a burning issue that still exists in the present.”

A picture of so-called witch doctors in Sierra Leone taken roughly around the year 1900 *Image:*
*Getty Images/Hulton Archive*

A pan-African problem?

In Tanzania, the victims of these witch hunts are often people with albinism; some people believe that the body parts of these individuals can be used to extract potions against all sorts of ailments. Similar practices are known to take place in Zambia and elsewhere on the continent.

Meanwhile in Ghana, where nonagenarian Akua Denteh was bludgeoned to death last month, certain communities blamed the birth of children with disabilities on practices of witchcraft.

Screenshot – to watch the video please consult the source

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is usually the younger generations who are associated witchcraft. So-called “children of witchcraft” are usually rejected by their families and left to fend for themselves. However, their so-called crimes often have little to do with sorcery at all:

“We have learned of numerous cases of children suffering rape and then no longer being accepted by their families. Or they are born as illegitimate children out of wedlock, and are forced to live with a parent who no longer accepts them,” says Thérèse Mema Mapenzi, who works as a mission project partner in the eastern DRC city of Bukayu.

‘Children of witchcraft’ in the DRC

Mapenzi’s facility was initially intended to be a women’s shelter to harbor women who suffered rape at the hands of the militia in the eastern parts of the country, where rape is used as a weapon of war as part of the civil conflict there. But over the years, more and more children started seeking her help after they were rejected as “children of witchcraft.”

With assistance from the Catholic missionary society missio, Mapenzi is now also supporting these underage individuals in coping with their many traumas while trying to find orphanages and schools for them.

“When these children come here, they have often been beaten to a pulp, have been branded as witches or have suffered other injuries. It is painful to just even look at them. We are always shocked to see these children devoid of any protection. How can this be?” Mapenzi wonders.

Thérèse Mema Mapenzi is trying to help women and girls accused of being “children of witchcraft”
*Image: missio*

Seeking dialogue to end witch hunts

But there is a whole social infrastructure fueling this hatred against these young people in the DRC: Many charismatic churches blame diseases such as HIV/AIDS or female infertility on witchcraft, with illegitimate children serving as scapegoats for problems that cannot be easily solved in one of the poorest countries on earth. Other reasons cited include sudden deaths, crop failures, greed, jealousy and more.

Thérèse Mema Mapenzi says that trying to help those on the receiving end of this ire is a difficult task, especially in the absence of legal protection: “In Congolese law, witchcraft is not recognized as a violation of the law because there is no evidence you can produce. Unfortunately, the people have therefore developed their own legal practices to seek retribution and punish those whom call them witches.”

In addition to helping those escaping persecution, Mapenzi also seeks dialogue with communities to stop prejudice against those accused of witchcraft and sorcery. She wants to bring estranged families torn apart by witch hunts back together. Acting as a mediator, she talks to people, and from time to time succeeds in reuniting relatives with women and children who had been ostracized and shamed. Mapenzi says that such efforts — when they succeed — take an average of two to three years from beginning to finish.

But even with a residual risk of the victims being suspected of witchcraft again, she says her endeavors are worth the risk. She says that the fact that August 10 has been recognized as the World Day against Witch Hunts sends a signal that her work is important — and needed.

Hunting the hunters — a dangerous undertaking

For Thérèse Mema Mapenzi, the World Day against Witch Hunts marks another milestone in her uphill battle in the DRC. Jörg Nowak, spokesman for missio, agrees and hopes that there will now be growing awareness about this issue around the globe.

As part of his work, Nowak has visited several missio project partners fighting to help bring an end to witch hunts in recent years. But he wasn’t aware about the magnitude of the problem himself until 2017.

The first case he dealt with was the killing of women accused of being witches in Papua New Guinea in the 2010s — which eventually resulted in his publishing a paper on the crisis situation in the country and becoming missio’s dedicated expert on witch hunts.

But much of Nowak’s extensive research in Papua New Guinea remains largely under wraps for the time being, at least in the country itself: the evidence he accrued against some of the perpetrators there could risk the lives of missio partners working for him.

Not much has changed for centuries, apart from the localities involved when it comes to the occult belief in witchcraft, says Nowak while stressing: “There is no such thing as witchcraft. But there are accusations and stigmatization designed to demonize people; indeed designed to discredit them in order for others to gain selfish advantages.”

Maxwell Suuk and Isaac Kaledzi contributed to this article.

Screenshot – to watch the seven images please consult the source

Source: Witch hunts: A global problem in the 21st century

Ghana Pentecostals come to the defense of accused witches

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Dr. F.P.M. van der Kraaij

In Ghana, superstition is widespread, and Ghana is not the only SSA country where people firmly believe in the power of witches, witchdoctors, and witchcraft. The fear which many people have for those perceived to be witches may lead to abnormal reactions, as the case below illustrates. A woman was beaten to death just because she was thought to be a witch and accused of causing irregular rain.

Education is the only effective means to fight superstition. Meanwhile the rule of law must apply. A government and society cannot tolerate the law of the jungle.

The article presented below is only part of the original article. Members only have access to the full article published by the online news site Christianity Today. See the original link below. (Webmaster FVDK)

Ghana Pentecostals Come to the Defense of Accused Witches

Published: November 23, 2020
By: Christianity Today, Ghana – Daniel Silliman and Griffin Paul Jackson

An old woman was killed when she refused to confess to causing irregular rain. Christians had to speak up. 

Pentecostals everywhere sing about the power of Jesus’ name. But in Ghana, they sing specifically that his name is powerful against witches.

More than 90 percent of Ghanaian Christians believe witchcraft is a problem in the country, and more than half have visited a Pentecostal prayer camp to ask for deliverance from witches and demons, according to a study by Opoku Onyinah, theologian and past president of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC). The Spirit-empowered churches in the West African country don’t take the issue of witches lightly.

But this summer, the GPCC decided to speak up for the women who are accused of witchcraft. The Pentecostal group, an umbrella organization of 200 denominations and parachurches, called for new laws and a national conversation about how to better take care of the more than 2,000 widows who have been exiled over allegations of working with demons.

The churches decided to make a statement after an elderly Muslim woman in a rural village was beaten to death when she refused to confess to witchcraft. Akua Denteh was accused of causing irregular rain, starting fires, and killing children with supernatural powers. A video of her violent death—as a crowd stood watching—was shared widely around the country, and Christian leaders decided they could no longer be silent.

“The elderly, weak and vulnerable must be targeted for the care and protection of our society,” the GPCC statement said. “We must, at all cost, seek justice for this 90-year-old woman and all those who have suffered such atrocities in the past.”

Onyinah, speaking on a popular radio program, called for laws controlling witch hunts and witch identifications. He added a specific ….. the rest of the article is available for ‘members-only’ (follow the link below)

Source: Ghana Pentecostals Come to the Defense of Accused Witches

Nigerian couple working to eliminate infanticide in Nigeria

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Dr. F.P.M. van der Kraaij

The remarkable recovery of Hope abandoned in 2016 after being accused of witchcraft in Nigeria made headlines. Photo: Nsidibe Orok/ Anja Ringgren Lovén Facebook

By Kylie Kiunguyu on April 19, 2018

There is an ongoing culture of killing twins and other infants in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area councils. Christian missionary Steven Olusola Ajayi and his wife Chinwe opened the Vine Heritage Home to shelter children deemed “evil” by their communities.

Bwari, Kuje, Gwagwalada and Kwali are some of the area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where communities use infanticide to “rid” themselves of twins and other multiple-birth babies, albinos, babies whose mothers die within three months of the baby’s birth, babies who grow upper teeth first or babies born with defects. To the people of the community, these are signs that the babies are evil and will cause harm to its parents or the community at large.
The penalty for this evil is death by poisoning with a deadly mixture of plants and herbs, starvation, neglect, suffocation, crushing or being buried alive, especially in instances where the mother passed away before the baby is weaned – the baby will be buried alive with her body.

Infanticide was once common in parts of Nigeria, but work by missionaries in the late 19th century meant it became less so. Yet it continues to occur in secret in a host of communities. Campaigners and the government are trying to tackle the superstitions behind these killings and also to address the denials and secrecy that surrounds them in an attempt to protect vulnerable children.

Vine Heritage Home
Christian missionaries Steven Olusola and Chinwe Ajayi opened the Vine Heritage Home in 2004, a shelter for so-called “evil” children. For more than 20 years, Ajayi has been working with 40-plus communities on the traditions of ritual infanticide in the Abuja area.
In a sign that his 20-year-long grass-roots effort is having an effect, some communities are now willing to give away the “evil” children, rather than kill them. Ajayi says this is progress. “They don’t kill them, but they don’t want them,” he told Afrocentric Confessions.

Ajayi told Reuters that he and his wife do not put the children up for adoption but look after them until it is safe to “return them to their families”.

It has been difficult working against the culture but it is slowly bearing fruit, despite push back from some communities and their spiritual leaders. Their attitudes are reflected in their reasoning for the infanticide: Alkali Magaji, the spiritual leader of Kaida, told Afrocentric Confessions, “Our people believe that these children come from the evil one and no one wants it. We have a god we call Otauchi and we offer the children to that god. We suspect those children to be witches or wizards. That’s why we eliminate them.” The practice is so deeply interwoven with the local spiritual beliefs that complete eradication will be difficult.

Some places have progressed, however, such as Kutara village, where seven pairs of twins are living within the community. Ajayi said it’s one of the first villages to end baby killings. The local chief, Bature Dangana, told VOA that he is happy to see twins living among them.

Government Intervention
The Nigerian government began investigating infanticide in 2013, starting off a campaign to eradicate the practice. The campaign includes building primary health care centres and primary schools. Dr Matthew Ashikeni, the executive secretary of the FCT Primary Health Care Board, was part of the investigation panel.

“There was a need for enlightenment and education, so that the communities would know … medical science has the capacity to correct most, if not all, such defects. Billboards were erected in strategic places in those area councils, informing them that that was a stone-age practice and should not be done now when we have opportunity and exposure to science and education,” Dr Ashikeni told VOA.

Director Garba Abari of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), a government body that communicates policy, told Reuters that the campaign, dubbed ‘Eliminating Negative Cultural Practices’, operates mainly in Abuja although children are killed elsewhere in Nigeria. Abari said this was due to the fact that authorities had failed to find civil society groups to work with them to combat infanticide as there was a great deal of denial in communities and suspicion of outsiders.

The NOA therefore went on to employ local people to work on the issue, an approach that seems to be working as the government has received no reports of infanticide in Abuja in more than a year.

“You don’t just go and confront them, saying that you are coming to talk to them to stop it … The best thing is to use the traditional leaders and heads of communities,” he said.

However, the decline could be attributed to the practice going further underground, with communities now committing it in deep secrecy.

No matter what the numbers are, people like Steven and Chinwe are desperately needed to fight this outdated belief and provide a safe haven for children under threat.

Source: This Is Africa – Opinion

Ritual Killing In Africa

Human Rights, Rule of Law, and Superstition in Africa

Category Archives: Christianity