A grandmother who is reportedly nursing the HIV disease blamed her condition on witchcraft and holds wards responsible.
In Cross-River State, Nigeria, a child protection agency has rescued three female orphans who have endured harsh treatment from their grandmother who blamed them for contracting the HIV disease.
The victims who were accused of witchcraft are aged 13, 5, and 3 years old respectively have reportedly lost their parents. They suffered streaks of torture from their guardian who reportedly invited their uncle to beat them.
Scars displayed on their backs appear indelible signs of their troubled past.
The oldest among the trio defended her siblings refuting claims that they are witches. She remarked in a chat with Vanguard News the meagre daily meal available to them, which often comes after an intense labour.
“We are not witches, our grandmother made us to confess what we are not. We dropped out of school in 2016 when our mother died; we also lost our father in 2014.
"We do not belong to any witchcraft world. We are normal children; she made us to sell sachet water before we can eat once a day.
"She is our grandmother, she normally brings people like Uncle Aniekan to punish us with hot machete and he flogged us with it after it had been heated up in fire. They will use it to flog us to confess that we were responsible for her sickness," the eldest child mentioned.
According to reports, Barrister James Ibor, a counsel for the Child Protection Network and Basic Rights Counsel Initiative, confirmed the comments offered by one of the abused children.
He explained that the grandmother who is dealing with a terminal illness had refused to continue a dosage of the anti-retroviral drugs recommended for her and had blamed her wards for her deteriorating health.
Superstitions are inspiring murder
In neighbouring Akwa Ibom State, Edem Okon, a 53-year-old man was hindered in an attempt to murder his son who reportedly tried to kill him in a dream.
The father who has two children living at the Child’s Right and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) in Eket visited the facility with an intention to slaughter one of the offspring.
This was confirmed by CRARN's head, Sam Itauma.
“Okon came with the sole aim of killing one of his two sons under our care.
"His reason, being a dream he had in which his 6-year-old son, Elijah, purportedly came to stab him to death while he was sleeping in the night," says Itauma.
According to reports, the youngsters had declined to go home with him after an invitation.
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They reportedly suspected Okon might be up to something devious. This provided good motivation to turn down a fresh attempt to get them some gifts at a grocery store.
Feeling the sharpness from the moments of rejection, a frustrated Okon took to aggression to make his thoughts known.
He warned his son not to appear in his dreams any longer or risk being killed.
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