Nigerian Foreign Minister Accuses Abused Child Witches of Lying

Astonishing news from the Nigeria Next:

Two months after the world was regaled with the revelation of mutilated, and abused children from Eket in Akwa Ibom state for being witches and wizards, the first official reaction from the federal government has come from far away Geneva.

The Minister for Foreign Affair, Ojo Madueke, leading the Nigeria delegation to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on human rights in Geneva, Monday denied that torture is an official state policy in Nigeria, suggesting however that the “children were paid to say they were tortured.”

Madueke made this comment while answering questions in response to his official statement at a question and answer session after he presented the official Nigerian statement at the UN assembly…

The torture and abuse of children accused of witchcraft by certain Christian pastors in Nigeria is of course well-attested, and received international attention following a British TV documentary in November- I blogged on this here.

Madueke followed this up with the claim that the government was unable to find any gay people in the country.

One Response

  1. There’s been some mention in the pagan community and on the blogs about the ongoing hysteria over “witchcraft” in Africa — especially the superstitious, hysterical kind that is being used as an excuse for people to abuse, attack, and murder other people they don’t like. Over the past few days, this hysteria over “witchcraft” has been reaching a new peak, as the country of Gambia is using “witchcraft” as an excuse for the government to crack down on undesirables. Rather than a single individual, the residents of a town, or even a religious group persecuting others using the accusation of “witchcraft” and “sorcery,” this time it’s the military arm of the country’s entire ruling body.

    Here four articles I’ve included on my blog, the Bulldada Newsblog, about the situation in the past few days. In the latest news, the army officially denies harassment based on witchcraft.

    http://www.senegambianews.com/article.cfm?articleID=18570

    http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/gambian-opposition-leader-slams-government-over-witch-hunters-2009021021639.html

    http://allafrica.com/stories/200902100795.html

    http://www.foroyaa.gm/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1848

    Gambia is the smallest country in Africa, rarely mentioned in world news at all. It’s on the west coast of Africa, completely surrounded by the country of Senegal; see the Wikipedia entry on Gambia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambia ) for more details.

    This might be of interest to you as an example of how the specter of “witchcraft” is still being exploited in the world of the 21st century.

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