Claims police also searching for UK Observer journalist and Sophie Okonedo
Nigerian evangelist Helen Ukpabio has a threatening message for the state governor of Akwa Ibom (Nigeria), Godswill Akpabio:
“Governor Akpabio should note that Charles Taylor once held sway in Liberia but today is on trial for crime he committed while in office. He should also remember what happened to Saddam Hussein in Iraq and therefore we want him to remember that he would be held accountable for his actions while he was in power,” the evangelist said.
Ukpabio and her lawyer Victor Ukutt are upset because Akpabio had intervened to protect the headquarters of the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN), which was recently raided by the police – with Ukutt in attendance. CRARN has in recent months gained international recognition for its work protecting children who have been accused of witchcraft by local evangelists, following the broadcast of an award-winning Channel 4 documentary in December. This documentary went viral worldwide (it was also recently broadcast in Australia), and Akpabio has been under serious pressure to improve the situation. Helen Ukpabio, however, maintains thar CRARN’s president Sam Itauma is a “wizard”, and that the children CRARN protects really are witches who need “deliverance”. She also alleges fraud, and that she has been unfairly villified – in particular, she was abused on a trip to London shortly after the programme aired. The programme also featured a secretly-filmed interview with her, in which she warned the programme-makers that she was a powerful person.
The threat against the state governor appears in This Day. The report adds:
Ukpabio accused the governor of using his position to frustrate attempts by detectives from the Police Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi, Lagos to arrest one Sam Ita Uma, his wife and some British nationals namely Gary Foxcroft, Tracey Macvey, MagGaven and Sophie Okonedo who were being sought by the police over allegations of counterfeiting, and pirating of Ukpabi’’s film/home video entitled “End of The Wicked” as well as sending threat signals to her.
This is somewhat garbled; Gary Foxcroft is a British citizen who works with CRARN, and he was the main guide for the documentary-makers. Sophie Okonedo is a famous British actress whose father was Nigerian; her only connection to the story is that Channel 4 hired her to narrate the programme. Tracy McVeigh, meanwhile, is a journalist who wrote a story on the subject for the Observer back in 2007, which I blogged on here. “MagGaven” is Mags Gavan, who made the documentary. Ukpabio also complains that her horror film End of the Wicked – which shows witch-children flying around at night and causing a man’s eyes to drop out – was “pirated” by the documentary-makers when they used short extracts in the programme.
Meanwhile, footage has emerged of the conference on the subject which was held in Nigeria last month, which was invaded by more than a hundred of Ukpabio’s followers in orange T-shirts; the conference’s organiser, Leo Igwe, provided me with a guest-post here.
(Video hat tip: The Teapost Atheist)
Filed under: Uncategorized
Helen is a woman of God.
Helen is not a women of god. Her words are killing children. There is nothing written in the Bible about witches but about evil within people as within Helen. God is calling out to everyone in the world to do something about this women as she is out of control with self greed. You need to do something about your brainwashing and think about what she is personally acheiving from her words. Ask yourself this, if your children were accused of being witches would you put them in boiling water!! This is what Helen is advocating. Groups all over the world have formed to bring her down and we will not let up until this is done. Children in Africa are suffering because of the brutality of this women. Get your mind right!
YOU ARE NOT READING YOUR BIBLE CORRECTLY IF YOU SEE NOTHING ABOUT WITCHES I CHALLENGE YOU TO DO A BIBLICAL WORD SEARCH ON WITCHES AND WITCHCRAFT YOU WILL SEE THAT GOD DEDICATE A WHOLE CHAPTER TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE.. YES AND GROUPS ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE FORMED TO STAND BY HER BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THE UNDERGROUND ACTIVITIES OF WITCHCRAFT..
For anyone interested – this ‘witch’ problem seems to stem from the introduction of Evangelical christian beliefs to the poor, under-educated people of Africa.
Google ‘the family’ for more information on this seedy, corrupt organisation and spread the word before they spread any more hatred.
Peace
helen is a woman of satan. she is sick and twisted.
You are all the evil witches if you truly believe this! I am a practising Christian and never never has my pastor said we should pick on vulnerable chldren without a voice! God help you!
How can she Helen be a woman of God??? Please open your eyes read your bible and understand that the message is about loving and caring for your fellow man! She is evil evil evil and I cannot believe she is a mother – maybe her children are witches/wizards! Has she checked????
I will be passing the petition against her church to as many people as possible to stop this nasty evil. These children are the future of the country – love them, care for them and your future looks brighter.
THis is a real shame. It is a shame that Africa and African people continue to be destroyed by western belief in their attempt to follow western religions -which – by the way – have completely deleted Africa and African practice out of the bible.
Why are Africans being brainwashed by the bible? Africans, please wake up!
Helen is not a woman of god, she is the devil- all her traits & beliefs are an insult to christianity as a safe & respectful religion, she is only involved for the power she has gained, and enjoys belittling people, She supports, death, pain, sadness, loss, starvation, and the destroyment of another fellow human being. god will judge her and punish her for all her sins- she is going straight to hell- there she will suffer as the little children did!!
she makes me so angry at her for getting away with this and angry that people follow her- the must need mental health support- they obviously are not thinking clearly! get that awful, nasty, selfish & dangerous woman out of society!!
J.P Lecturer in UK
How is Helen a women of God?? I’m am very curious on how you came to that conclusion. Helen is what is called a false prophet or what society might call a wolf in sheeps clothing. To find her teaching to be accurate would be an abomination to your inner being. To exploit small children like that is absolutly crazy. Now God does speak of witchcraft but where does it talk about children coming out of their bodies and do all these crazy things to their parents or where does it say that if you are under any financial hardship or if a death in the family occurs that you are possessed? Helen made a comment in an interview saying that the women interviewing her was a racist….huh??? In the video “end of the wicked” what race was the devil betraying?
Helen is doing exactly the opposite of what the Bible says. Where in the Bible does it say that children are demons? No where. It is sad because she is exploiting the uneducated people of Nigeria and having the parents turn against the poor kids to torture and murder them. This is not the Christian way. Us, the real Christians, are praying hard so that false prophets like her are quickly condemned. God is watching, so I am sure Karma will come her way.
So God is a torturer of children then?
DO NOT GET IT TWISTED NO ONE IS TORTURING CHILDREN IF THE SPIRIT OF WITCHCRAFT CHOOSES TO USE THE FACE OF A CHILD IT MUST BE DEALT WITH SO THAT THE CHILD CAN BE SAVED AND DELIVERED.. SATANIC AGENTS ARE STARTEGIST THEY WILL USE ANYTHING JUST LIKE THE TERRORIST USE CHILD SUICIDE BOMBERS WHY BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS LOOK AT THE INNOCENCE OF A CHILDS FACE. SATAN IS A DECEIVER AND IF A CHILD CAN HELP HIM ACCOMPLISH HIS GOALS HE WILLL USE THE FACE OF A CHILD TO WREAK HAVOC BEHIND THE SCENE
Listen, you terrifying fool – there is no such thing as “the spirit of witchcraft” – there are no Satanic agents, there is no Satan. All people who “hunt witches” are doing is tormenting children because they have the delusion that “witches” are “using” children.
Try to take this in. The fact that the word “witch” can be found in English translations of the Bible does not, repeat, does not mean that “witches” are real.
Ur a very deluded person, i will pray for you
Rosemarie, you really need help and it’s either that you have experienced trauma in your life or that you are heavily paid to be permanently stupid. I pray that your eyes will be opened and you will look back and say “what happened back then”. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too late. The one prayer that I have for you is that life gets better for you and you don’t blame your misfortune on some innocent kids who deserve a chance in life just as everyone has a right to live. If witches exist then we adults are the witches causing atrocities and crimes against the innocent. Just concentrate on positive prayers and stop focusing on satan.
Rosemarie – you and people like you are providing backing for the mutilation and murder of innocent children…how does that sit with your god…?
You are deranged and should seek mental help – why not Google nigeria witches to see what is being done to innocent children in the name of religion.
Witches are fantasy not reality – we gave up on witches hundreds of years ago – when are people like you going to climb into the 21st Century…?
Sickening.
If you read the Babble, he most certainly is, Ophelia…Gleefully and spitefully so.
“Helen is a woman of God.”
Then so much the worse for God.
May I ask the educated illiterates something:Does Helen billboard conspicuously displayed on this page suggest that Helen Ukpabio organizes programs and invite them for a “kill” or “deliverance”? Why are people mischievous and blind to naked truth.Ita Uma is a ripe off,and smilling to the bank daily because he knows how to get you guys cheap,but I bet you no Nigerian can fall prey to him,and his falsehood.
The attack in Calabar and the threat of religious extremism in Nigeria
Written by Leo Igwe
Around 11:30 am on Wednesday July 29 2009, a mob of about 200 persons from the Liberty Gospel Church invaded the Cultural Center in Calabar Cross River State, Nigeria. The Cultural Center was the venue of a public symposium on witchcraft and child rights organised by the Nigerian Humanist Movement and Stepping Stones Nigeria.
Most of them arrived at the venue in buses wearing orange T-shirt while others donned plain clothes to hide their identity. As we were about to start, some of them stormed the conference hall stamping their feet on the ground and chanting slogans critical of the event and the organisers.
I tried calming them down without success as they were determined to disrupt the event and ensure that the program was not held. The representative of the Commissioner of Police in Cross River State, Anthony Placid was there and he tried calling them to order but they rebuffed him. At a point I walked up to one of the camera boys who was videoing the whole chaos and pandemonium and tried to inquire who authorized him to cover the event. I held the camera and around ten of them came and started dragging it with me. And at a point they said the camera had broken and consequently all them pounced on me and started hitting me on the head and at my back. They snatched my bag containing my digital camera, conference papers and some cash. They destroyed my eyeglasses and made away with my mobile phone.The mob went away with some of our conference banners and some anti witchcraft T-shirts and caps which we gave to participants. Some friends who tried rescuing me from these idiots were also beaten. The representative of the Commissioner of Police called and had some police officers sent to the scene that brought the situation under control. The police dispersed the thugs and arrested one of the pastors, Jeffrey Bassey. In his statement at the police station, Bassey told the police that they were instructed by Evangelist Helen Ukpabio to disrupt the event. He was detained and was later released on bail. Incidentally the attack by the Liberty Gospel Church happened at a time the Nigerian police and the army were doing a battle with an islamic sect called Boko Haram in Bornu State in Northen Nigeria.This fanatical group had declared a war against the state. They attacked and beheaded police officers and civilians in a violent campaign to foist their own version of Aharia law on the country.It is unfortunate that Helen Ukpabio has turned her Liberty Gospel Church into a fundamentalist sect in Calabar. Helen has been heavily criticized for fueling witchcraft accusation and persecution through her ministry. She claims to be a former witch and to have powers to exorcize witchcraft. She organizes witch testing, witch screening and witch deliverance sessions. Helen has written books and articles, produced films, like the End of the Wicked and published newsletters detailing the characteristics of witches and how a witch can be delivered. But Helen and her rag tag ministry called Liberty Gospel Church are not alone in this shameful scheme. Many pastors in Nigeria are into the business of witch exorcism for which they charge a lot of money. The activities of Helen, the Liberty Gospel Church and other unscrupulous penticostal pastors are largely to be blamed for the tragic phenomenon of witch children.Witchcraft accusation of children has caused so much problem for families and communities across Nigeria. Today many states in Nigeria are grappling with the problem of street children. And many of the kids are those abandoned, driven to the streets or displaced due to witchcraft. Some witch children have been tortured or killed by their own parents or family members, others by pastors during exorcism. But this charlatan called Helen Ukpabio has taken the criticism in bad faith . And instead of shifting the focus of her misguided ministry, this evangelical throwback had turned into a monster and a terrorist. She has turned her church members into tools to attack, destroy and terrorize any individual, group, government or gathering that opposes or criticizes her activities. Not too long ago she sent some police officers who raided the Center where child victims are kept in Eket in Akwa Ibom state. They beat up some of the children injuring two of them.In fact Helen Ukpabio has transformed the Liberty Gospel Church into another Boko Haram in Calabar and is currently waging a vicious war against the Nigerian state particularly the governments of Cross River and Akwa Ibom or any individual or group working or campaigning to tackle and eradicate witchcraft related abuses. That was why she could send her thugs to invade the child rights conference in Calabar, attack and beat up the organisers in the presence of the representative of the Commssioner of Police of Cross River State and other representatives of governmental and non governmental organisations. The Nigerian authorities should take note of this and take action against this moron and her terrorist group before it is too late.The Nigerian government needs to immediately arrest Helen Ukpabio and investigate the activities of the so called Liberty Gospel Church particularly the terrorist acts of the thugs, pick pocketers, gangsters, maniacs, lunatics, goons and nuts she has assembled over the years and brainwashed to execute her criminal schemes. Tomorrow may be too late.
Mr Barholomew – I hope you will put Leo Igwe’s comment above the fold so that more people will see it.
I’m going to post it as an article at my website Butterflies and Wheels, too – with a credit to your site. This story needs the widest possible circulation.
Please send out as much info as you can as we all need to know about this and can spread it far and wide!
Benson, you need a doctor. Go for a brain check; you certainly are sick.
you are the one to have your brain checked, to support crazy adults who talk rubbish, with nothing to back it all, do you believe that innocent children are witches seriously??? you have got to be as mentally ill as helen, for gods sake take some control on reality- you are an embarrasment that u believe that shit that comes from her mouth, u better pray you dont go to hell.
I dont know why you are crazy enough to believe helen she is talking utter crap. you will be following her to hell aslo then to let helen & all her follwers endure . suffering for eternity!! enjoy it
Why all the noise about Mrs Ukpabio. Any true believer will know she is in error and by her fruits you know that she is not ministering Christ.Just pray for her
Prayer – “how to do nothing and still think you are helping”
Why not get off your lazy christian backside and do something.
This is a classic problem with religious people – they believe prayer is all that is needed.
Do you realise that children are being tortured in your name…?
“Religions are all alike – founded upon fables and mythologies.” Thomas Jefferson
Mrs Helen Ukpabio is a great mistake…
she only preaches witches and wizard.
never said anything about salvation or kingdom of
God.
But brainwashing some hapless people.
Honestly,i just believe she is just capitalising on the ignorance of these people.
It takes a witch to know a witch.
This is a total disgrace that one woman who had nothing going for her but to play on the minds of the misfortune and pple who are dispositioned in society should have such a hold on the mindless and weak pple of society. If she is threatening the governor of a whole state and is not reprimanded, then there are pple that are backing her. She is in a state where majority of the pple lack the mere basics of life and as a result she feeds off the little they have. Pple like this can never survive in a larger urban society such as Lagos. She is not a woman of God, she preys on the socio-economic situation in the Delta region and it is a shame because she is an enemy of her own pple. I hope that one day the majority of her pple will have an eye-opening experience that will reveal that she is nothing but a ‘Fraud’. I just hope the pple of her region don’t have to experience a tragic situation like that of ‘Jim Jones’ – Guyan tragedy. I know that woman named Helen Ukpabio is definitely not having good night sleeps and she will never rest or see any peace until she denounces her atrocities.
Wel said. She is mentally ill – I can truly find no other explanantion for her behaviour! I will pray for her but she must surely be punished on this earth for what she has done to 100’s of children. God bless those who are helping to right such a terrible wrong.
Of course it is a Secular organisation that is actually DOING something to help these children – While the religious people stand back and ‘Pray’
What does this teach us?
As a young Nigerian woman, i am mortified to know that this is happening. I am disgusted to think that my people are so stupid as to believe all of the BULLSHIT that this woman Helen Ukpabio talks about. If she claims she is a woman of God then why doesn’t she come over to England and try and cure everybody over here of their sins and their witchcraft? BECAUSE she knows that if she came over to England and/or other more developed places she would get laughed back to Africa for her false proclamations and ridiculous accusations.
Liberty Gospel Church really need to rethink who they follow and who they worship because the Bible clearly states that nobody else but the Lord should be worshiped so why is Helen? In addition, following the outrage after the programme, surely people would begin to doubt that what they are being indoctrinated with musn’t be true.
And i am so sad to say that my fellow Nigerians will all be tarnished with the same brush. NOW as a Nigerian would you want to be tarnished with the same brush as this mentally unstable woman?
Please think…
nigerian are wicked
why is this woman being allowed to maime and torture innocent children. I cant’ believe that this is happening… GOD IS LOVE. Little children are born innocent. What in the name of god is the matter with this Helen woman. She should be stopped and prosecuted. I wish I were rich and could fly over to there and personally take all these children home with me. I will pray nightly for Helen and for these children. I do believe in Satan but this is just unbelieveable. Where is the support from the government for these children.
these people who belive in this evil woman are ignorant. A lot of those churches practice in nigeria without anyone doing nothing. please people, all african are not the same, i am from senegal and we don’t know about that, we are totaly different from them.
these wicked churches don’t practice there. The country is muslim but 10% of the population are catholic and we all live together without problem. We are african but africa is a continent like europe and people don’t mix spanish and french because they are all white but different. So please don’t say that is happen in Africa but in nigeria or congo or elsewhere. Thanks
believe me, if you know that Helen is a witch, you also are witch, to know if she is a witch, call me on 08023415434. Believe me. Quest
I also have believed in Witches when I was three years old, luckily we have something like education. I pity every follower of the Nigerian prophets. I feel sorry for their believes. It’s not their fault, its the fault of those who are not ignorant, but looking for money and power. Like miss Ukpabio. I pray for the exictance of a God and I hope she will be punished in hell. May there not be a God than she will gets away with it. If only we would stop intervere in Iraq and Afghanistan so we coul reach our help at those who can be saved, not (only) in the name of god but in the name of humanity.
Hel(l)en ukpabio is a very sick woman, another horrible example what religion does to people
This Helen is not only sick, she is clever,..making money out of Gods words, hurting children, for money,..she is no christian. She reads the holy bible as the devil reads the bible……
God and Jesus loves children…
[…] this ridiculous law-suit here, and on some of here other legal antics here; she has also promised to pursue the makers of the Channel 4 documentaries about her work, including the actress who narrated them. […]
[…] governor Godswill Akpabio, who has passed legislation against accusing children of witchcraft, by warning him to ”remember what happened to Saddam […]
Helen is the real witch . Very powerful and she has cast a spell on her many followers. They do her bidding as how witches are known to work. She should be tried as a witch. I do not believe in ANY religious crap like this but if she is playing the game she should play by the rules.
[…] however, has fought back: she warned Akpabio to “remember what happened to Saddam Hussein”, and she launched a number of lawsuits […]
You guys r jst talking nonsense abt Helen. All of u saying any thing negative abt her wil recieve ur reward respectively. Jst dat am surprise dat even literate or joining d illetrate 2 say bullshit. Am nt in Liberty bt i believe in her!.
are you kidding me. How could you so blindly follow this greedy foul woman. I will pray for you and Helen and your country.
[…] I have written about Stepping Stones Nigeria before; it is a British charity, and two Channel 4 documentaries (here and here) have highlighted its work and that of its partners – in particular the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network, whose director Sam Itauma received an award from Amnesty last year. However, their efforts have come under sustained attack from the powerful evangelist Helen Ukpabio (recently promoted to “Apostle”) and her followers. […]
She is the embodiment of Hitler. She has gained wealth from the death and torture of children. Even babies. She should be brought up on charges of murder child abuse and 100 other offenses.. I am a Christian and she uses the religion to wage terror and gain wealth.
NO TRUE RELIGION CONDONES MURDER…
She is an abomination and should be striped of her wealth and help rehabilitate the children and lives she has destructed.
BTW I am a Black American……
No “true” religion? All religions condone murder, as it is contained within everyone of the “sacred” gospels of them. god, allah, whoever, has been known to kill a motherfucker or two. There is no witchcraft, there is no satan, there is no god. It was made up to explain the origin of the universe, because people were too stupid to know, or understand the scientific origins. And to this day, we still don’t TRULY know, partly because of the continuing existence of these religions holding it back. If all religious scholars put away that nonsense and started focusing on actual, real, tangible things, we might understand this universe a bit better.
It is reprehensible that preachers like Ukpabio & others believe in witches & are able to convince followers of this idiocy. But it is a travesty of human decency that the victims in this are the most defenseless amongst us ; children. I know that I am stating the obvious , but the Helens & Rose-Maries of the world are numerous. But where is the government of Nigeria in all this? Do they turn a blind eye to this? Africa is culturally a basket case , due to superstition , poverty , & post colonial invasions by western fundamentalist Christians.
[…] who runs a hostel for children stigmatised as witches. Ukpabio, however, has fought back: she warned Akpabio to “remember what happened to Saddam Hussein”, and set her lawyers and police on […]
GOVERNOR AKPAPIO, are you blind to all this ?
where is the Government? WHy dont some one put this holuigan and rascal away for the rest of her life?
HELEN UKPABIO.. the ghosts and cries and pains of those children that you have caused to enrich your dirty pockets will haunt you and anything that bears your name for ever.God is alive, enjoy your dirty wealth from the blood of children, one day , you will pay. In this life or the next.
[…] powerful figure in the state, claims that the hostel is run by a “wizard”, and she warned Akpabio to “remember what happened to Saddam […]
[…] witches for the sake of money”, and when Governor Akpabio visited the hostel last year she warned him – with her typical vulgarity and arrogance – to “remember what happened to Saddam […]
Whatever people may think of Helen Ukpabio, she is certainly a clever woman. She has a brilliant business plan going.
According to my observations, it seems she used the already widespread African belief in witchcraft to make herself rich and powerful.
She exploits that belief to its utmost.
A psychopath (if that is what she is) can be very discerning and they are often clever at manipulating other people’s fears. They are masters of deceit, accomplished liars, and they can possess very high intelligence (traits that you might associate with the devil?)
The only way to take the wind out of Helen’s sails would be to challenge the widespread belief in witches within some African communities, (beliefs that may have had their origins, not in the Bible, but from old African pagan religions).
That is surely where these beliefs originated and that is where they ultimately have to be addressed.
[…] January 2, 2011 by Richard Bartholomew Back in 2009, I received a comment from a certain “t.ukam” in defence of Nigerian evangelist Helen Ukpabio: May I ask the educated illiterates […]
[…] the campaign against child-witch stigmatisation, appears to have crumbled under pressure from powerful evangelists such as Helen Ukpabio. In 2009, Ukpabio sent her followers to disrupt a conference on the subject […]
Here is a country which allows the obvious abuse of innocent children while closing their eyes to it all because of withcraft.
They have allowed some crazy woman who relies simply on the ignorance of her people to enrich herself no matter what the cost. Murdering innocent children. The claim that they are followers of God, yet they nothing but a bunch of cowards. My motto is: “I fear no one but God!”
And even thought she naver raised a direct-hand to hurt any of the kids, indirectly she used the same sort of tactic and propaganda as Hitler to slaughter a great number of people. They may be related.
i see alot of ignorance in all accusing the woman of God.please read the bible with the help of the Holy spirit. i feel soorryyyyyyyyy for the so called christian who are accusing this woman. how can u read a letter in an envelope ?just think. may God open the eyes of ur understanding. one is true, the foundation of God is sure having this seal the lord knows those that are truly his own.he knows them by name and calls them children.the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. lets wait and see at the end but work for ur salvation with fear and trembling. accuse evan helen of another sin and i will believe u.
[…] the home of a sinister demagogue named Helen Ukpabio. She’s an influential figure in Nigeria: threatening authorities who challenge her practices and intimidating people who question her power. In fact, […]
[…] been abandoned due to child-witch stigmatisation, and when the Governor of Akwa Ibom intervened she warned him to “remember what happened to Saddam Hussein”. Ukpabio also sent thugs to disrupt a […]
[…] been abandoned due to child-witch stigmatisation, and when the Governor of Akwa Ibom intervened she warned him to “remember what happened to Saddam Hussein”. Ukpabio also sent thugs to disrupt a conference […]