Akwa Ibom State: A 38 year old man, Mr. Michael Effiong from Odoronkit
in Esit Esit Eket Local Government Area was on Thursday arraigned before
the Esit Eket Magistrate Court, Uqou over torturing and abandoning of his
seven year old son, Master Benjamin Effoing.
Mr Effoing was arrested barely a week ago by the Esit Eket Divisional
Police Headquarters after a group of NGOs in the area petitioned the
police. The Child’s Right and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) and the Young
Humanistas Network (YHN) in their joint petition, told the police that Mr.
Effiong had earlier abandoned his little son while he was 3 years old after
putting the little lad under intense torture claiming that he was
responsible for his failure in life.
The little boy, fondly called Benji was rescued to CRARN Children Centre in
Eket where he was given medical attention, care and support for three years
before he was reconciled with the father last year. He was again found
roaming the street, about 11 kilometres away from his father village, with
scars and wounds all over his body. When asked what happened to him, he
said “My father said that the witch power has not finished in my body.
Every night he will tie my legs and hand then hang me on the roof while
beating me with wires and sticks...Then he took me in the night and dropped
in a place I did not know; I began to walk around the street looking for
CRARN Centre.”
Mr Effiong who had earlier signed an undertaking with CRARN to love,
protect and give the child education was arrested in his house early
morning penultimate Friday for not only torturing and abandoning the child,
but for breaching spirit of the undertaking he signed with the
organisations.
The intense pressure from members of the Odoronkit community mounted on the
police to give out Mr Effiong, who is a local wood sawyer on bail, did not,
however, yield dividends. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of
Esit Eket, Mr. *Dike Uchechi, *while chatting with news men said the
prosecution of Mr Effiong will go ahead to serve as a deterrent to others
who make abandonment of children in the area a way of life.
“I told the Police Prosecutor in my division, Mr Akpabio to go and charge
the case to court. This will serve as a deterrent to others” the police
boss said.
Speaking to news men, the Director of Administration of CRARN, Mr. Emmanuel
Okon said the organisation will work with law enforcement agency to
prosecute parents who abandon and torture their children
“CRARN with its partners will continue to follow up cases of torture and
abandonment of children to ensure that the children are not unduly exposed
to danger. For the churches that encourage parents to abuse their children,
they should read the scripture carefully and tell us where it said that
children should be treated in this way.” Mr Okon maintained.
The Project Manager, YHN, Mr Ayobami Ojedokun said he was appalled by the
rate at which children were constantly labelled as witches and thrown out
to roam the streets to become easy prey to human traffickers. He called on
the state government to engage churches in intensive campaign to check the
trend of stigmatizing children as witches.
Though Mr Effiong pleaded guilty to all the charges preferred against him,
the Magistrate, Mrs Esther Etukudo said she will transfer the case to the Director of
Public Prosecution, (DPP) in Uyo who will then proceed with the case to the
family court in line with the new child right law of the state. She
commended CRARN and YHN for job well done and significantly for giving the
child absolute care while being abandon by the parents.
She however, ordered that Mr Effiong be remanded in custody till 23 of
March, 2012 when the case will be transferred to Uyo.
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