Some time back I wrote about a fellow Culture Kitchen blogger, Leo Igwe, whose blogging has gotten him and his family beaten up repeatedly. He is a Nigerian who stands up against both Christian and Muslim fundamentalism in Africa and stands up for reason and science. His main crusades have been fighting against child abuse in the name of religion. For his efforts he has been harassed by the police and beaten by mobs. But he keeps fighting even as the attempts to silence him have escalated.

The latest attack was a couple of weeks ago when his mother and father were beaten in their own house. His father lost an eye. I am on vacation now so not blogging so much, but I have to post the latest from Leo: despite these repeated attacks, he has vowed to keep fighting. The latest Culture Kitchen diary by Leo Igwe is reposted below with further background on Leo and his efforts.

From Culture Kitchen:

The recent attack on my family which led to my father's loss of one eye was an unfortunate development. It was yet another attempt to intimidate us and undermine our campaign for justice.

To any intelligent observer of the trends in Nigeria, this incident would not have come as a surprise. Because Nigeria has practically been taken over by thugs, hoodlums, kidnappers and bandits.

Nigeria is held hostage by forces of dark age and barbarism. Anything that appears to be civil or enlightened about Nigeria is mainly on the surface. Since independence Nigeria has been descending gradually into anomie, anarchy and criminality. Nigeria has derailed and deteriorated due to misrule, bad governance, collective irresponsibility and insensitivity, lack of vision and thoughtfulness, selfishness, greed, ignorance, hypocrisy and self deceit. Nigeria has failed to put in place institutions that treat the people in a fair, just and dignified manner. Nigeria has failed to adopt effective mechanisms to reward those who want to live honest, decent, diligent and dignified lives. Nigeria has failed to cultivate and institutionalize those values that make a nation great, relevant and prosperous.

At best, Nigeria pays lip service to these values. The government is irresponsive and irresponsible. The educational system is in shambles. The justice system is nothing to write home about. The value system has collapsed. The greatest tragedy is that most Nigerians have resigned to this ‘fate’. They think that nothing can be done to change or improve the situation; that no radical or reasonable change can be realized. Most Nigerians have given up hope- hope of realizing a decent and dignified life; hope for justice and fairness for all; hope for recognition and respect for their rights. Fear, despair, gloom, pessimism and cynicism loom throughout the country.

The public institutions are used to oppress and exploit the public. The power of the people is used to abuse, enslave and maltreat the people.

For instance the police system is established to fight and prevent crimes. But in Nigeria, the police foster and perpetrate crimes with impunity. Police stations across Nigeria are extortion and torture chambers. The justice system is there to protect only the interest of the rich and powerful. Justice is for sale and goes to the highest bidder. The government lacks the political will to reform the system and move against those who have vested interest in the status quo. So no one should be surprised that it is taking so long to bring criminals to justice. No one should be surprised that those campaigning for justice and human rights suffer vicious attacks, harassment and intimidation.

Should we then abandon the cause of justice because of the risks involved? Should we then stop speaking out for human rights and the rule of civilized law because of the dangers we face or could face? My answer to these questions is unequivocally NO!

Indeed we run more risks and face more dangers when turn a blind eye to the oppression and unjust treatment of fellow human beings. We tacitly endorse injustice when we fail to speak out against it. According to the Nigerian Humanist Wole Soyinka , the man dies in him who keeps silent in the face of tyranny. What we are facing in Nigeria today is worse than tyranny. So I urge all people of conscience to speak out against this tragic situation.

And on my own part, I will, in spite of the attacks, persecution, prosecution and harassment which I and my family members have suffered in the past years, continue to speak out against injustices and human rights abuses. I will continue to use all civilized means to challenge and tackle unjust and oppressive institutions. I will continue to work and campaign for social change and progress, for human rights and dignified life, for civilization, emancipation and enlightenment.

Leo is an inspiration to me. I fight hard against both Republican and Democratic corruption as well as for progressive and liberal policies in the United States. For my efforts I have been verbally attacked and attacked in several blogs. But that is nothing compared to what Leo goes through. You can read more of Leo's articles on Culture Kitchen. I always learn from them.

Some background on Leo and his efforts follow, mainly drawn from my previous articles on the subject:

this isn't the first time Leo has faced physical attacks nor is Edward Uwa the only enemy he has made who has attacked him. About a year ago I wrote about an earlier attack where an extremist Christian cult that Leo was exposing for child abuse physically attacked him. From that earlier article:

I only noticed this through an indirect route. His name came up in a discussion on Kiva I came across for other reasons. But it seems on July 30th, Leo Igwe, who sometimes writes articles for Culture Kitchen, was attacked by a mob in Nigeria. This is from a letter written by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (which Leo works for) the Nigerian High Commission in the UK:

According to an eye-witness account, about two hundred members of Liberty Gospel Church stormed the venue of the symposium on Thursday, 30 July. They attacked Mr Igwe, took his bag, his camera and his mobile phone as well as destroying his spectacles. Liberty Gospel Church, led by Helen Akpabio, has been alleged to have held ‘trials’ of children suspected of being witches and many of these children have been killed after having been found guilty by such ‘trials’.

And from an article on AllAfrica.com:

In another development, Stepping Stones, a UK-based NGO has alleged that Helen Ukpabio's campaign of terror against children and those committed to fighting for their rights took a new turn last week when a large group of her supporters raided a child rights conference in Calabar and attacked a number of the delegates. The conference, which was on the theme of "Child Rights and Witchcraft", had been organised by the Nigerian Humanist Movement and the UK charity Stepping Stones Nigeria in response to the widespread abandonment, torture and killing of children in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States due to the

belief in child 'witches'. As the day began, at around 10.30 am, a group of religious extremists dressed in orange raided the venue and began protesting loudly.

The extremists, who are believed to be members of Helen Ukpabio's Church, Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries, were carrying a number of banners with slogans such as, "We give freedom to the witches" and "Stepping Stone is not a registered organisation". Eventually, after an hour and a half, the police turned up and dispersed the mob. One person was arrested.

The conference co-ordinator Leo Igwe, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Humanist Movement, was viciously beaten during the attack and had his phone and camera stolen by the angry mob. Speaking after the event Leo said: "The conference was a peaceful meeting for people to openly debate what could be done to prevent the abuse of child rights linked to the belief in witchcraft. This attack by Helen Ukpabio's supporters once again highlights the depravity of this so-called "woman of God". Such false prophets should be immediately arrested and prosecuted under the child rights Act".

Leo's most recent posts on Culture Kitchen dealt with this topic. You can read about it in the following articles:

Campaign of Terror unleashed on Nigeria’s ‘Witch Children’

BRINGING EVANGELIST HELEN UKPABIO TO JUSTICE/CAMPAIGN UPDATE...

Please help spread the word about Leo and his efforts. This guy is a fellow blogger who puts his life on the line to help others. We can draw considerable inspiration from him.