Leo Igwe

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Leo Igwe 2012 in Las Vegas
Leo Igwe introduces himself (2017).

Leo Igwe (born July 26, 1970 ) is a Nigerian human rights activist and humanist . He was a representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union for West and South Africa. He specializes in taking action against the belief in witch children in Africa and documenting its effects. His human rights work brought him into conflict with high-ranking "witch believers" such as the Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries . He was arrested several times during his human rights campaigns in Nigeria. He has been a Research Fellow of the James Randi Educational Foundation since 2012 , combats the effects of superstition and is part of the skeptic movement .

Life

Igwe grew up in southwest Nigeria. He describes his parents' home as strictly Catholic in the midst of an extremely superstitious neighborhood. When Igwe was twelve years old, he attended seminary to be trained as a Catholic priest, but he was preoccupied with the conflict between Christian theology and the belief in witches and wizards, which is "deeply rooted in Nigerian society." After researching for a while, he felt an internal conflict due to the "strange mixture of tribalism and fundamentalist Christianity" which he believes "hinder the development of Africa". He left the seminary at the age of 24 and moved to Ibadan , Nigeria.

Igwe is doing research on this topic at the University of Bayreuth as part of his doctoral studies , having already completed a master's degree in philosophy at the University of Calabar in Nigeria .

Human rights work

Igwe is a Junior Fellow of the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies , part of the Institute for African Studies at the University of Bayreuth. His research project is entitled "Witchcraft Accusation - A Case Study of Northern Ghana ".

In an article for Free Inquiry magazine in the fall of 2000, Igwe listed various ways in which religious extremists in Nigeria took over local administrations and used them to enforce religious justice, thereby undermining human rights in these areas.

In 2004 Igwe wrote that belief in sorcery leads to ritual killings and human sacrifice in Nigeria , noting that women and children are more likely to be ascribed "negative" magical skills or activities, while men are more likely to be portrayed as possessing good-natured magical powers.

Igwe is featured in a 2008 BBC documentary , Saving Africa's Witch Children , as one of the main characters was the "witch hunter" Helen Ukpabio . The film, about "terrible crimes against children accused of witchcraft," was also shown on HBO in 2010. He also follows the efforts of Sam Itauma, founder of the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN), which provides shelter and protection for abused or abandoned children, and of Gary Foxcroft, founder of Stepping Stones Nigeria .

At the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in Banjul 2009, Igwe represented the International Humanist and Ethical Union , criticizing caste discrimination in Africa for the IHEU. In his speech, he pointed to the discrimination against the Osu , a group that some consider to be of a lower class: "[The Osu] continue to be discriminated against and humiliated, especially in the areas of marriage and family, right to property and inheritance, Access to land, political rights and representation, education, development, infrastructure and distribution of basic necessities ".

According to a report by the European Humanist Federation , soldiers and police broke into Igwe's house in 2010 on a "false murder report" allegedly made by a man Igwe had previously tried to bring to justice for alleged sexual assault on a ten year old . It also states that Igwe has been arrested three times since working on the rape case, each time on alleged malicious charges, which is why EHF's David Pollock wrote to then-Vice President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan , to bring Igwe's case to the attention.

Later, in August 2010, the EHF reported that Igwe's home and family were attacked, with two strangers physically assaulting his father and blindfolding him, resulting in "serious injuries to his face and head" and surgical removal one eye made necessary. The case was brought up by Amnesty International after police reportedly refused to investigate.

On January 11, 2011, Igwe was "held and beaten" by police while trying to rescue two children allegedly witchcraft in Uyo , Akwa Ibom . According to Sahara Reporters, New York, as part of an effort by local Governor Godswill Akpabio to "increase control over activists engaged in the rescue of children accused of sorcery". Igwe was later released without charge, said Gary Foxcroft of Stepping Stones Nigeria, and is doing well.

Liberty Gospel Church

Igwe's work against witchcraft allegations also included lobbying for the enforcement of a Nigerian law prohibiting children from being accused of wizardry, which brought him into conflict with the Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries , a Pentecostal movement group , particularly Pastor Helen Ukpabio , of Igwe and others are accused, according to a New York Times article , of having "contributed to the torture or abandonment of thousands of Nigerian children - including toddlers and infants - suspected of being witches or wizards" through their teachings.

On July 29, 2009, Igwe was due to speak at a conference in Calabar, Nigeria, condemning "the abandoning, torture and killing of children mistaken for witches". As he was about to begin his speech, more than 150 members of the Liberty Gospel Church stormed into the hall and attacked Igwe. He was "beaten and robbed, his camera, money and mobile phone stolen before he could escape to a nearby police station for help". Some of the events were recorded on film. After this attack, the head of the Liberty Gospel Church, Pastor Helen Ukpabio, sued the local government, various critics and also Igwe for 2 billion naira (about 13.4 million euros, 2009) and an "indefinite cease and desist order" issued to their critics Should bring silence. Ukpabio's lawsuit was later dismissed by Judge PJ Nneke of the Federal High Court in Calabar. In response to criticism from Igwe and others, Ukpabio said in an interview with Mark Oppenheimer of the New York Times that "her cinematic depictions of obsessed children gathering in the moonlight to devour human flesh" (as you would in her film End of the Wicked sees), are not meant seriously. She also says the BBC 's documentary Saving Africa's Children "exaggerates or invents the problem of abandoned children". Oppenheimer continues: "When asked how she could be so sure, she said 'because I'm from Africa!' In Africa she said 'family associations are too strong to have a child on the street' ".

Skeptics

Leo Igwe

Igwe's role as coordinator of the Nigerian humanist movement resulted in his being awarded the Freethinker Award at the Stars of Freethought Convention in 2005 for his exceptional contribution to global atheism . The event was hosted by Atheist Alliance International and Atheists United. In addition, Igwe was also a leading organizer and moderator for the first international humanist conference in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2007. Igwe was also a member of the board of directors of Atheist Alliance International , where he helped improve cooperation with the Nigerian humanist movement, which resulted in that it received both the AAI International Freethinker Award and the AAI Community Cooperation Award .

As a director of the Center For Inquiry - Nigeria, Igwe was interviewed in 2009 for the BBC World Service . He spoke of the organization's efforts to raise awareness of the violence and neglect that results from believing in witchcraft. These are consequences that result from both belief in the practice of witchcraft and fear of magic. In 2012 Igwe wrote A Manifesto for a Skeptical Africa , which received the support of several activists in Africa as well as members of the skeptic movement around the world.

At the 6th World Skeptics Conference ( May 18-20 , 2012) in Berlin, Igwe presented a poster with gruesome descriptions of the unspeakable things that happened to him and many of his supporters in Africa while they protested against the persecution and murder of children and marginalized groups, as well as the inability of law enforcement officers and religious leaders to face these atrocities.

On July 12, 2012 Igwe took part in a panel discussion at the Amaz! Ng Meeting 2012. Igwe's presentation explored the fact that poverty drives both the supply and demand for self-proclaimed exorcists who, Igwe said, take advantage of desperate communities and thereby cause abandonment or neglect of children. With panelist Eran Segev (then President of Australian Skeptics ) and moderator Brian Thompson (Outreach Director, JREF), Igwe discussed its efforts to promote human rights and the harmful effects of superstition and allegations of magic in Nigeria, Ghana and Malawi, as well as the intention to to draw public attention to the activities of witch hunters.

In October 2012 Igwe was named a Research Fellow of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF).

See also

Web links

Commons : Leo Igwe  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Anne-Louise Brown: Fighting the Darkness . In: The Gold Coast Bulletin , October 8, 2011, p. 9. 
  2. ↑ Igwe, Leo - Junior Fellow. Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies, accessed July 22, 2013 .
  3. ^ Leo Igwe: When Sharia becomes the law of the land . In: Free Inquiry . 20, No. 4, 2000, p. 42.
  4. ^ Leo Igwe: A Skeptical Look at African Witchcraft and Religion . In: Skeptic . 11, No. 1, 2004, p. 72.
  5. ^ Saving Africa's Witch Children. Internet Movie Database , accessed June 12, 2015 .
  6. ↑ a b c CFI / Nigeria Leader Leo Igwe Featured Tonight on 'Saving Africa's Witch Children'. Center for Inquiry, May 26, 2010, accessed February 19, 2013 .
  7. ↑ a b HBO: Saving Africa's Witch Children. HBO Documentaries, accessed February 19, 2013 .
  8. ^ A b Caste discrimination in Africa: IHEU speaks out at African Human Rights Commission. International Humanist and Ethical Union, May 14, 2009, accessed February 18, 2013 .
  9. ↑ a b c d Protest at Harassment of Leo Igwe in Nigeria. European Humanist Federation, March 9, 2010, accessed February 19, 2013 .
  10. ^ David Pollock: Letter to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan. (PDF; 65 kB) European Humanist Federation, March 8, 2010, accessed on July 22, 2013 .
  11. ↑ IHEU representative Leo Igwe jailed and beaten for human rightswerk. (No longer available online.) International Humanist and Ethical Union, January 18, 2011, formerly original ; Retrieved February 16, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.iheu.org  
  12. ↑ Clampdown On Child Rights Activists In Akwa Ibom State: Leo Igwe Arrested By Police On the Orders Of Gov. Akpabio. In: Sahara Reporters. Retrieved February 17, 2013 .
  13. ↑ a b Martin Robbins: The dangerous fight for the 'child witches' of Nigeria. In: The Guardian. January 14, 2011, accessed February 14, 2013 .
  14. ^ Paul Sims: Humanist campaigner Leo Igwe arrested in southern Nigeria. New Humanist Blog, January 13, 2011, accessed July 22, 2013 .
  15. ↑ a b c d Mark Oppenheimer: On a visit to the US, a Nigerian witch-hunter explains herself. In: The New York Times . May 21, 2010, p. A11 , accessed July 22, 2013 .
  16. ↑ a b c Mandy De Waal: Suffer the little children. In: Mail & Guardian. April 10, 2012, accessed February 14, 2013 .
  17. ↑ a b Martin Robbins: Face to faith: Christian and Islamist extremists in Nigeria are exporting dangerous ideas. In: The Guardian. August 7, 2009, accessed July 22, 2013 .
  18. ↑ Helen Ukpabio militia invade child rights conference in Calabar, Nigeria. Youtube.com, July 29, 2009, accessed July 22, 2013 .
  19. ↑ Mehul Kamdar: Atheist Alliance International's 11th Annual Stars of Freethought Convention - Some Afterthoughts. Mukto-mona, accessed February 17, 2013 .
  20. ^ Norm R. Allen Jr .: African Americans for Humanism in Africa. Council for Secular Humanism, accessed February 25, 2013 .
  21. ^ Atheist Alliance of America - Leo Igwe. May 27, 2010, accessed January 30, 2013 .
  22. ↑ Director of CFI — Nigeria Leo Igwe interviewed on BBC World Service. In: Center for Inquiry. June 15, 2009, accessed February 18, 2013 .
  23. ↑ Do traditional beliefs in witchcraft or the power of juju hold back development in Africa? In: BBC World Service - Africa. June 14, 2009, accessed February 18, 2013 .
  24. ↑ a b Leo Igwe: A Manifesto for a Skeptical Africa. In: James Randi Educational Foundation. Retrieved February 17, 2013 .
  25. ↑ Igwe, Leo. Kylie Sturgess Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Leo Igwe - The Constant Fight Against Irrationality. June 6, 2012.
  26. ↑ a b c The Amaz! Ng Meeting 2012 - Program. James Randi Educational Foundation, accessed January 21, 2013 .
  27. ↑ New Video from the Amaz! Ng Meeting 2012: Supporting Skepticism Around the World. James Randi Educational Foundation, accessed February 21, 2013 .
  28. ^ Sharon A. Hill: Leo Igwe partners with JREF to respond to witchcraft problem in Africa. In: Doubtful News. October 30, 2012, accessed February 17, 2013 .
  29. ^ Leo Igwe Appointed as New JREF Research Fellow. In: James Randi Educational Foundation. Retrieved February 16, 2013 .
personal data
SURNAME Igwe, Leo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerian human rights activist and humanist
DATE OF BIRTH July 26, 1970