In Nigeria, Children Accused by Churches of Being Witches Are Tortured By Their Families

Saturday's Lagos Guardian reports that in parts of the Nigerian states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River, there has been an alarming increase in the number of children who are suspected by their parents of being "witches" or "wizards." Many of them are abandoned, tortured or killed by their families after prophets from Pentecostal sects declare the children to possess strange powers. The craze seems to have been started in the late 1990's by Prophetess Helen Ukpabio, founder of the Liberty Gospel Church. Her home movies portrayed some children as possessing supernatural powers that they can use to bring misfortune to their families. The Child's Right Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) is providing shelter for over 150 of these abused children at its Children's Centre, and is working to get the parents who tortured or murdered children prosecuted.