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Thousands of stigmatized ‘Witch Children’ have found refuge at CRARN center, in Akwa Ibom.

The children were branded as “witches” by church ministers and have been cast out by their families and shunned by society.

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One of them is six-year-old Israel Effiong, from Ikot Uso Ekong, Eket, who was accused of being responsible for his father’s illness. Fearing for his life, he ran away and hid in a bush for a year before he was rescued by Edoho,a volunteer with the organisation.

Edoho, himself is former child at CRARN Children Center. He now serves as one of the volunteers who rescue children to the centre.

“When my father became ill and taken to a hospital, my stepmom asked if I knew anything about his illness. I told her that I could not think of anything bad about my father because he’s the supporting me,” Effiong recounts.

“When his illness took a turn for the worst, my stepmom became angry with me.
In the nights, she’ll wake me up, tie my hands and legs then poured wild ants all over my body while asking me to relieve my dad from the witches coven. At times she would tie my hand and legs, began to hit my heads with sticks and electrical wires.

She stopped giving me food and locked me out of the house. I went and told the neighbors living close to us. She said she could not allow me to stay with her because my stepmother will be angry with her.

“The people living around us began to hate me and asked not to come close to their children. I went and slept in the village town hall. One night, some men came and saw me there, they brought me out and asked me to dance as witches. When I told them that I didn’t know witches dance, they used sticks and matches to beat me. A man who was passing by came and told them not kill me. They left me and warned me not come there again. I went and stayed in a bush and be coming out in the night to pick up leftover from the market garbage

“One day, I was tired and slept off in the market, a boy by name Edoho came and saw me there and told me he would come back and take me to a safe place where other children like me are living. I told him where I normally stay in the bush.

Yesterday, he came and took me the CRARN Children Center, Eket. I’m very glad to stay here because I would go to school again and sleep without fear of the unknown.”

92 COMMENTS

  1. Clarence u can not survive once they tag u that name in akwa ibom and in calabar main town,so she most not be a witch to run away from those hunting her life,thus am not from there but I spent five yrs of my life there cos I schooled in unical,in my place river state we take posses people to church for deliverance,we don’t kill children for any reason.

  2. Why are those pple behaving so stoned naaaaw…
    See old men and women suffering kids when they are actually the matured witches
    Can there be junior witches without the senior ones ???
    If a child is accused of being a witch
    The parents and all extended family should be brought for questioning
    Even family friends nonsense!!!

  3. Yaba left right. ..na witch matter whona still post today….yesteday ball hit someone’s head and he started speaking Spanish automatically ..a day before yesterday bobrisky the Gay boy. ….last week was all about chibok girls that refuse to leave their bokoharam husband. …tomorrow may Be the resurrection of Adam and Eve

  4. Woe to witches & wizards for their waterloo is nigh. Anyway, I don’t believe this girl can escape witches & wizards by running wild in the bush or forest. Wishes & wizards can go to any length, talk more of bushes & forests within the same vicinity (which are to them… what water is to the fish). No, not for a whole year. Or is she a witch too?

  5. So dis Akwa Ibom peep Nd their stories so far on social media is true after all, but why is some one trying to defend dem cos she is frm dat region, wat are the pastor’s Nd the elders of the state doing abut it, is it dat dey don’t believe in God or Church, Na waooo

  6. Lie…Lie…your own pass Lai own. That means he/she was five when he/she ran into the bush and survived for a year.
    Sometimes, you need to lie into your hands, put the lies to your ears and listen to it, if it sounds good in your ears, you can then sell it to whoever cares to listen.

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