Ebonyi, revoke the bail of Elom Monday

By Leo Igwe

The Advocacy for Alleged Witches urges the Ebonyi state government to revoke the bail of Elom Monday. Mr. Monday and other suspects are being prosecuted for witchcraft-related offences in the state. Monday has been using various means to evade justice. Two days ago, he brought some police officers from Enugu and arrested a local chief and advocate, Chijioke Eze. Local sources told AfAW that the arrest took place after a court session in Abakiliki. The police unsuccessfully tried to arrest the son of Thomas Eze (unrelated to Chief Eze), who is one of the witnesses in the case against Elom Monday and others. Mr Eze, whose name was not mentioned in the petition, was taken to the state CID in Enugu. Efforts to speak to the PPRO and CP Enugu state have been unsuccessful. AfAW condemns the arrest and urges the police in Enugu to resist being used to victimize innocent people and avoid punishment.

The Advocacy for Alleged Witches sent one of its advocates to Enugu to help secure the release of Chief Chijioke Eze.

The advocate arrived in Enugu yesterday and is currently negotiating his release. The police asked for 500 thousand naira before they could release Eze. AfAW has reached out to the officer in charge of administration and filed a complaint. The officer responded, apologizing for this development. In his message to AfAW, he stated, “Sorry, I am so much down in health. I just woke up at 12 midnight after taking medication around 4 pm yesterday, and fell asleep. I hope the suspect was released yesterday. If he was not, I am really very sorry. I will compel the I.P.O. to release him as soon as it is daybreak. I am very sorry, please”. He then messaged again: “Please, Sir, kindly ask the surety to come for the release of the suspect as early as he can”. AfAW commends the CID for a diligent handling of the case. 

The advocate will be at the station this morning to ensure Mr Eze’s release and his return to his community in Ebonyi.

In a related development, Elom Monday recently facilitated some revenge attacks against the children of Thomas Eze. He mobilized some thugs who assaulted, slapped, and macheted them. One of Thomas’ sons, Sunday, was seriously injured. AfAW implores the director of public prosecution to get the judge to revoke the bail of Elom Monday and others being tried in Abakiliki. Elom Monday and others implicated in witch-hunting activities must be made to answer for their crimes.

Leo Igwe directs the Advocacy for Alleged Witches

Leo Igwe

Leo Igwe (born July 26, 1970) is a Nigerian human rights advocate and humanist. Igwe is a former Western and Southern African representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and has specialized in campaigning against and documenting the impacts of child witchcraft accusations. He holds a Ph.D from the Bayreuth International School of African Studies at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, having earned a graduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Calabar in Nigeria. Igwe’s human rights advocacy has brought him into conflict with high-profile witchcraft believers, such as Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries, because of his criticism of what he describes as their role in the violence and child abandonment that sometimes result from accusations of witchcraft. His human rights fieldwork has led to his arrest on several occasions in Nigeria. Igwe has held leadership roles in the Nigerian Humanist Movement, Atheist Alliance International, and the Center For Inquiry—Nigeria. In 2012, Igwe was appointed as a Research Fellow of the James Randi Educational Foundation, where he continues working toward the goal of responding to what he sees as the deleterious effects of superstition, advancing skepticism throughout Africa and around the world. In 2014, Igwe was chosen as a laureate of the International Academy of Humanism and in 2017 received the Distinguished Services to Humanism Award from the International Humanist and Ethical Union. Igwe was raised in southeastern Nigeria, and describes his household as being strictly Catholic in the midst of a “highly superstitious community,” according to an interview in the Gold Coast Bulletin.[1] At age twelve, Igwe entered the seminary, beginning to study for the Catholic priesthood, but later was confused by conflicting beliefs between Christian theology and the beliefs in witches and wizards that are “entrenched in Nigerian society.”[1] After a period of research and internal conflict due to doubts about the “odd blend of tribalism and fundamentalist Christianity he believes is stunting African development,” a 24-year-old Igwe resigned from the seminary and relocated to Ibadan, Nigeria