How is the Advocacy for Alleged Witches partnering with FIDA to combat witchcraft accusations and protect women and children in Bauchi State?

By Dr. Leo Igwe

Greetings to you, co-organizers and participants in today’s roundtable discussion on witchcraft accusations and human rights abuses against women and children in Bauchi State. Unfortunately, I cannot be with you due to a conflict in my schedule. Thank you to the International Federation of Women Lawyers, Bauchi State branch, for agreeing to co-organize this event. The Advocacy for Alleged Witches is delighted to partner with FIDA in combating the menace of witch hunts in the state and beyond. As you may know, the targets and victims of witch hunts are mainly women and children. So this partnership is a strategic one.

This year’s International Day Against Witch Hunts is devoted to remembering victims of this egregious abuse, both dead and alive. Do you know someone who has been accused and abused, or people who have been violated based on witchcraft notions? Let us pause for a moment to remember these fellow human beings who have been falsely accused and abused. Let us recall those family or community members—innocent women, men, children, and adults, the elderly, people with physical or mental challenges—who have been attacked, killed, buried alive, lynched, beaten, or tortured to death, abandoned for supposedly causing harm, disease, death, or destruction through magical or occult means. Let us remember Talatu Joshua, Damina Lamba, Hafsat Bala, Sunday Sale, Ezekiel Samaila, the 7-year-old girl recently accused and abused and still nursing her wounds somewhere in this state, and other known and unknown victims and survivors of witch hunts in Bauchi.

Bauchi State is one of the places in Nigeria where abuses linked to witchcraft beliefs and ritual attacks are often reported. Many of the cases happen in rural communities, and the victims are usually poor elderly persons without the means to defend themselves. The Advocacy for Alleged Witches is delighted that, thanks to agencies like FIDA, the National Human Rights Commission, and the police, some of the perpetrators of witch hunts in this state have been prosecuted or are being prosecuted.

But a lot needs to be done. Witchcraft accusations persist with devastating consequences in 21st-century Nigeria. Witch hunters operate with impunity. In many cases, the accused resign themselves to their fate; they seldom seek redress in courts or hold their accusers accountable. This roundtable discussion is a commendable development—it helps place the problem of witch hunts and the efforts to address it in proper perspective for Bauchi State. This event offers an opportunity to review strategies and to buckle up against this vicious phenomenon.

So, as part of today’s discussion, I urge you to explore the following questions: Why do accusations of witchcraft persist in Bauchi State? Why do accusers often target poor or old people, women, and children? What are we not doing to address the problem? What are we not doing well enough? What are the missing links in the initiatives to tackle the issue?

I urge all participants to take a more active part in this campaign and become advocates against witch persecution and abuse. Do not wait until you are accused or a relative is affected before speaking out. In a society like ours, everyone is a potential victim. Witchcraft accusation wreaks havoc in the lives of many innocent people. Nigeria is one of those countries where witch-hunting is pervasive despite existing mechanisms. Africa is one place in the world where suspected witches are still banished, beaten to death, or buried alive with impunity. This unfortunate situation in the region needs to change. Africa must join the rest of the world in making witch-hunting history. Africans need to reorient their minds and end witchcraft accusations and the trial and persecution of alleged witches.

The Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW) looks forward to working with FIDA, NHRC, and other state and non-state agencies in ending witch hunts in Bauchi State. I wish you all fruitful deliberations.

Leo Igwe, Ph.D.
Director, Advocacy for Alleged Witches

Photo by Emmanuel Ikwuegbu on Unsplash

Dr. Leo Igwe is a Nigerian human rights advocate and secular humanist renowned for his efforts to combat witchcraft accusations and promote critical thinking in Africa. He founded the Nigerian Humanist Movement, Advocacy for Alleged Witchcraft, and has held leadership roles in organizations such as Humanists International and the Center for Inquiry–Nigeria. Igwe earned a Ph.D. in religious studies from the University of Bayreuth in Germany and a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Calabar in Nigeria. His activism has led to confrontations with proponents of witchcraft beliefs, resulting in multiple arrests. In recognition of his work, he received the Distinguished Services to Humanism Award in 2017.

Original publication in ModernGhana.