Father nails children to cross over witchcraft

– A father in Akwa Ibom, John Friday Akpan accuses, his children of taking his money to their master in a witchcraft coven

– Akpan locks his children in a dark thatch hut without food for weeks as punishment

Elisha Friday Akpan ,12, and Esther Friday Akpan ,6, were starved of food by their father over allegations of being witches.
A 40-year-old man, John Friday Akpan from Akwa Ibom state is now explaining to the police why he nailed his two children to the cross.

According to reports by the Child’s Right And Rehabilitation Network (CRARN), Akpan who tagged his two children, Elisha Friday Akpan ,12, and Esther Friday Akpan ,6, as witches and wizards heeded the advice of a herbalist, Dr. Okokon in committing the act, the Nigerian Eye reports.

Their father accused them of taking his money to ‘their master in the witchcraft coven and as punishment, he decided to nail his two children to a cross, lock them in a dark, thatch hut without food for weeks.

Recounting her ordeal at the hands of her father said: “Our sister, Peace usually bring us water inside the hut when our father and our mother had gone out,” Esther said.

“My mother (stepmother), said the woman who used to live near our house in Akpabuyo gave us food and she put something (witchcraft spell) in the food and when we ate it we changed to bird at night and took our fathers money to ‘our master’ in the witchcraft world,” Elisha who is a JSS one student said.

According to the kids, Elisha was alleged to have taken 4,000 Naira while Esther took 2,000 Naira.

Video: Starving child abandoned because of “witchcraft”

In a related development, thousands of stigmatized ‘witch children’ have found refuge at CRARN center, in Akwa Ibom. The children were branded as witches by church ministers and have been cast out by their families and shunned by society.

One of them is 6-year-old Israel Effiong from Ikot Uso Ekong, Eket, who was accused of being responsible for his father’s illness. Fearing for his life, he ran away and hid in a bush for a year before he was rescued by Edoho, a volunteer with the organisation.