The Commission of
Inquiry into Witchcraft and Child Abuse in Akwa Ibom State has
concluded plans to travel to London, United Kingdom (UK). The
commission plans to meet with the Programme Director of a British
registered charity, the Stepping Stones Nigeria (SSN), Gary Foxcroft,
to get his testimonies over his organisation’s activities with the
children of the state.
The commission
said Mr Foxcroft will also answer questions on the various allegations
of fraud levelled against him and his organisation.
According to the
Commission which was set up by the state governor, Godswill Akpabio,
effort to get Mr Foxcroft to appear before it have not been successful
as he (Mr Foxcroft) insisted he could not come to the state because of
security reasons. Also, various attempts to get him through Skype
communication could not yield any fruitful results.
No support for UK trip
However, interest groups in the state have condemned the commission’s resolve to move its sitting to the United Kingdom.
Mike Ukpong, a
social worker with one of the civil society organisations in the state
said: “This Commission has done an amazing job; no one expected them to
go that far.” “I don’t think they should waste money going to London to
meet Gary (Foxcroft) to answer one or two questions. If he could not
come to Akwa-Ibom State, what about Lagos State or Abuja?
“They should give
the money they want to travel with to the poor, so-called witch
children. After all, Gary has stopped helping the children of Akwa-Ibom
State. Don’t you think it is only wise to invite him to come and give
account of the left-over money he collected on behalf of Akwa-Ibom
children?” asked Mr Ukpong.
Frank Usen, a
lawyer, added that it will be improper for the commission to vacate his
office to meet only an individual or small organisation in London
simply because of mere claim of security reason.
“Depending on the
angle you stand to look at it; it is either a matter of superiority or
inferiority complex,” said Mr Usen, an Uyo-based human rights activist.
“Security reason
is not enough because last year he was here in Nigeria twice; I think
he was in Abuja in August and November; we saw him on TV talking about
children and EU Barr Human Training,” he added.
A clerk in the
commission, who did not want to be named, said the commission has
received letters of complaints from some groups, including the Child
Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN).
According to the
clerk, the groups are calling on Stepping Stones Nigeria and its
directors – Gary and Naomi Foxcroft – to return all the resources and
funds collected on their behalf by them or face a serious show down.
‘Security reasons’
However, in
response to the allegations levelled against him and his organisation,
Mr Foxcroft said: “The charity’s board of trustees feel that the
security situation in the state is not good enough at the moment to
allow me to travel there.” He added that his organisation is looking
forward to the commission’s visit next week for cross examination.
“We did try and
give evidence via a video link but it was not successful. This is why
the Commission will be coming to London,” Mr Foxcroft said.
On the claims that
SSN has abandoned the “witch children” of Akwa-Ibom State, Mr Foxcroft
maintained that the children, who are at the CRARN children’s centre,
are the responsibility of CRARN, and not SSN.
“SSN was only ever
a funding partner of CRARN. As such it is CRARN’s duty to ensure that
the children’s needs are met,” said Mr Foxcroft. He said SSN is
committed to supporting the work of their other partners in Akwa-Ibom
and the Niger Delta states.
“Unfortunately
CRARN’s actions have made it impossible for SSN to continue supporting
them as we are duty-bound to ensure our partners uphold the highest
standards in child protection and accountability,” he added.
Helen Ukpabio to testify
In a related
development, the General Overseer and President of Liberty Gospel
Church, Helen Ukpabio, is billed to testify before the commission of
inquiry, according to her senior partner, Tony Ukam.
There have been
media reports that Ms Ukpabio has been turning down invitations
extended to her by the commission over the past six weeks. The
commission, recently, threatened to issue her a warrant of arrest.
According to
Godwin Abraham, the chairman of the commission, Ms Ukpabio was invited
following a memorandum she submitted to the commission about two months
ago. Mr Abraham also said that Ms Ukpabio’s name has become synonymous
with the child witch imbroglio in the state.
A UNICEF report in
2008 had blamed Ms Ukpabio’s film, “End of the Wicked”, a widely
watched home video, for being responsible for the widespread belief in
child witches which had led to the torture and killing of suspected
child witches.
