Open Letter to Governor Chief (Dr) Godswill Akpabio from Stepping Stones Nigeria
Your Excellency,
Stepping Stones Nigeria wishes to congratulate you on your recent establishment of Commission of Inquiry into witchcraft accusations and child rights abuses in Akwa Ibom State. We wholeheartedly welcome this positive move and wish to assure you that Stepping Stones Nigeria and its partner organisation – the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network – will provide the commission with our full support and evidence needed to show the true scale of the problem in Akwa Ibom State.
It is true to say that the child witch problem was indeed here before the advent of your administration in Akwa Ibom. It is equally true to say that you were the first Governor who was brave enough to confront the challenge of witchcraft accusations amongst children. By enacting the Child Rights Act in 2008 and making it illegal to brand children as witches you have shown that you are a true champion of child rights in Nigeria.
Stepping Stones Nigeria will be delighted to work with the Chairman, Justice Godwin Abraham, and all Commission members, along with national and international partners such as UNICEF, NAPTIP, various International Governments, CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera, Channel 4, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch to ensure that the commission receives as much comprehensive information on this issue as possible and upholds the highest international standards.
We look forward to the Commission helping provide access to justice for the numerous victims of this horrific form of abuse in Akwa Ibom State as, despite our partners reporting cases of abuse to the relevant authorities, there have been no successful prosecutions to date. This has been a source of great frustration for us. As such, you can imagine our great delight that you have shown the wisdom to set up this Commission in order to get to the bottom of this evil practice. We implore the Commission to use local media to encourage local community members throughout Akwa Ibom State to offer their own opinions about the validity of child witchcraft accusations.
Stepping Stones Nigeria also very much looks forward to reviewing the recommendations of the Committee and remains committed to working with the Akwa Ibom State Government to eradicate the abuse of child rights that takes place due to the belief in so-called child witches. Stepping Stones Nigeria believes that such positive steps to prevent the abuse of children and bring a brighter future to the lives of stigmatised children in Akwa Ibom will go a long way to further improving Akwa Ibom State’s reputation in Nigeria and around the world.
Once again we commend you Your Excellency for your passion to help Nigeria’s vulnerable and disadvantaged children and hope to have the opportunity to discuss these issues personally with you in the near future.
Yours Faithfully,
Gary Foxcroft - Programme Director – Stepping Stones Nigeria
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