Accused by her aunt at age 13 of being a witch responsible for her family’s misfortunes, Faith ran away from her rural home in the southern Nigerian state of Akwa Ibom after being deprived of food for days on end.
Now aged 19, she is studying Science Laboratory Technology at a polytechnic in the town of Eket, also in the state, and has ambitions to train as a medical doctor.
“I want to prove I am not what they said I was,” Faith, whose parents are both dead, told Reuters.
Reuters has withheld the full names of the victims to protect their identity, given the stigma attached to children accused of witchcraft.
The turnaround in Faith’s fortunes came after a gruelling 20 kilometres walk with no food to sustain her, she made it to a shelter run by Child’s Right and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN), an aid group dedicated to helping children accused of witchcraft.
CRARN, which stands for Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network, estimates that more than 30 000 Nigerian children have faced accusations of witchcraft over the past 20 years.
Even though the Nigerian government has passed laws at both the federal and state level to prevent witchcraft-related child abuse, activists say the practice is still widespread.
“If a child is accused of witchcraft, they’re often beaten, abandoned, and left to roam the streets. We rescue them and give them a chance to learn,” said Ima Itauma, a programme manager at CRARN.
The problem is most prevalent in the southern coastal states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River, which are majority Christian, but where traditional beliefs that attribute adversity to supernatural causes such as possession by malevolent spirits, are also widespread.
The phenomenon is also driven by the influence of evangelical pastors and witch doctors who offer to exorcise children possessed by Satan for a fee, a lucrative business for them.
Faith’s aunt accused her of witchcraft when her uncle’s motorcycle broke down and the family business faltered.
“Even when I took first position in school, my aunt said it was my witchcraft people that gave it to me,” she said.
–Reuters–
