As the issue of child abuse rages in the country, over 15,000 children have been identified as abandoned and stigmatized as "witches" in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.
This startling information was made public in a press statement dated June 16, issued by Stepping Stones Nigeria (SSN), a non-governmental organization based in Akwa Ibom and the United Kingdom that has been tackling the problem of child abandonment and child witches in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.
The statement signed by the United Kingdom Director of SSN, Mr. Gary Foxcroft, said: "States such as Akwa Ibom and Cross River are well-known for the high numbers of abandoned children on their streets. Estimates place the numbers of children that have been stigmatised as "witches" in these states alone at 15,000".
He said the superstitious belief which "is also known to be prevalent in many other regions of Nigeria " is leading to thousands of children being imprisoned in prayer houses, starved, beaten and even killed. Akwa Ibom State has a particularly high rate of child abandonment due to this belief.
"Such children then become easy prey for the numerous traffickers that operate in the region. Not only is this issue causing irreparable damage to the lives of these innocent children, it also paints a very negative image of Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria to the international community".
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child declares: "State parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians or family members".
Nigeria has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which it implemented in its Child Rights Act of 2003 dealing specifically with forms of child abuse hitherto left unpunished by previous criminal codes".
Foxcroft noted that this has however "been adopted by only 14 of the 36 Nigerian states and can therefore not be considered fully operational. Neither Akwa Ibom State nor Cross River State has adopted the Child Rights Act".
According to the Nigerian Programme Director of Stepping Stones Nigeria, Lucky Inyang,
"These states have a "moral obligation to do everything in their power to enact the Child Rights Act as quickly as possible".
"Stepping Stones Nigeria is calling on all stakeholders to unite behind its Prevent Abandonment of Children Today (PACT) campaign and help to protect and save the lives of these innocent children. He said the key demands that the PACT campaign makes are that "the Akwa Ibom State government enacts the Child Rights Act and begins to regulate the churches known to be carrying out violations of child rights.
Stepping Stones Nigeria is also calling on the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to ban all films that promote superstitious beliefs and lead to abuse of children's rights".
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