One of Culture Kitchen's regular bloggers is Leo Igwe, a Humanist living in Nigeria and fighting against religious extremism. Most recently he has been campaigning against child abuse by an extremist Christian sect in Nigeria and this has gotten him attacked by a mob and harassed by police. The extremist Christian sect sued Leo and several other child rights activists in Nigeria.
Today we hear from Leo that a judge has dropped all of the fictitious charges against him. Here's a press release from Leo:
February 4 2010
Helen Ukpbabio: Court Strikes out Case against Child Rights Campaigners
Today the Federal High Court in Calabar struck out the case brought against me and other child rights campaigners including the government of Akwa Ibom state by Helen Ukpabio and other members of the Liberty Gospel Church. In November Helen and some of her church members went to court seeking to enforce their rights to believe in God, Satan and witchcraft. They claimed that the seminars and conferences organised in Nigeria by the Nigerian Humanist Movement and other child rights groups to tackle witchcraft related abuses infringed on their rights to spread the gospel. They asked the court to order us to pay them two hundred billion naira(I.3 billion dollars) as damages for unlawful and unconstitutional infringement of their rights.
For the second time, Helen and her lawyers were not in court. So the lawyer leading the defence team, Barrister Madaki asked the court to strike out the case due lack of diligent prosecution. And the court granted his request.
The striking out of this case is a welcome development. It is a victory for justice, human rights and the rule of law in Nigeria. This decision by the court is a vindication of the child rights campaigners and the great work they are doing rescuing and saving the lives of children abused and abandoned in the name of witchcraft in Nigeria. It is a clear evidence that Helen Ukpabio and her church members have no case.
They instituted this court action to stop their arrest and prosecution for the attack of July 29 in Calabar.
Nigerian Humanist Movement and its partner groups will continue to work and campaign to eradicate all forms of human rights abuses in the name of witchcraft.
Every time I look for a reason to dismiss Madonna she goes and makes me fall in love with her all over again.
I don't care if she was reading from a teleprompter, this is one of the most open and sincere things to come out of Madonnas mouth in decades. You can tell his death really affected her. Madonna's on a social space were very few get to thread. Michael was one of those people and they obviously had a connection back in the day. Kindred spirits. Yet, as she's wanton to say several times during her speech, at least she had a childhood. Michael didn't.
Joe and Jermaine Jackson, perennial leeches of poor Michael, are sitting but steps away from her. You can tell Joe is not amused when for the 3rd or 4th time she reiterates "at least I had a childhood".
This speech was EPIC in a night that will go down in VMA infamy. I am really impressed by Madonna's heartfelt smack to the family that had abandoned Michael a long, long time ago.
Go grrrrl!
[NOTE: UGH! Apologies for the mishap. I had posted this video and an explanation with it that completely disappeared!]
I recently covered the attack on Leo Igwe, the Culture Kitchen blogger who was attacked by a mob of religious fanatics in Nigeria. Leo is still carrying on the fight on behalf of abused children in Nigeria, despite the attacks. He has sent me his most recent post:
The attack in Calabar and the threat of religious extremism in Nigeria
By Leo Igwe
Around 11.30 am on Wednesday July 29 2009, a mob of about 200 persons from the Liberty Gospel Church invaded the Cultural Center in Calabar Cross River State The Cultural Center was the venue of a public symposium on witchcraft and child rights organised by the Nigerian Humanist Movement and Stepping Stones Nigeria.
Most of them arrived the venue in buses wearing orange Tshirt while others donned plain clothes to hide their identity. As we were about to start, some of them stormed the conference hall stamping their feet on the ground and chanting slogans critical of the event and the organisers. more this way»
Awhile back I highlighted the attack on Culture Kitchen blogger Leo Igwe by a mob of Christian fanatics who didn't like his trying to stop their child abuse against so-called "witch children." More on the background to this below. But first let me post an eye witness account of the attack that Leo Igwe sent me a few days ago. It comes from National Network Online in Nigeria:
Wednesday, July 29, 2009, was the last Wednesday of that momentous month called JULY. That Wednesday was the climax in the dreadful drama that swept some states of the northern part of Nigeria like a fatal thunderstorm. It was that Wednesday that the Nigerian security operatives deployed their uttermost violence against the Mohammed Yusuf led Boko Haram, the Islamic group operating in the north. The Nigeria Police exhibited its bestiality and executed the 39-year-old Yusuf, leader of the Islamic sect. Alhaji Buji Fai, a politician and an ex-commissioner for Religious Affairs in Borno State who the police claimed, is a backer of Boko Haram was also, summarily executed. That Wednesday wasn't too good. The Wednesday was in the week of that maximum madness. more this way»
Yesterday I posted about Leo Igwe, contributor to Culture Kitchen, being attacked and beaten on July 30th because he was standing up to religious fanatics in Nigeria who were abusing children. I will reiterated and expand upon the details below. But first, I have now heard from Leo by email and he seems to be doing fine and still eager to fight the good fight. Here is his message:
Thanks for your message and concern As you may know both islamic and christian fanatics are holding Nigeria hostage You must have heard what is happening in Northern Nigeria where islamists have been battling with the police and the army for control in a region where an islamic dark age is already in place The situation makes me sad and to put it literally it makes me angry And my simple ambition is to create and to keep organizing fora where these dark age ideas and their influence can be challenged, debated, discussed and criticized.
Any help I can get to realize this objective will be greatly appreciated more this way»
On May 25th, 2005, I wrote the following about Lawrence Lessig :
Today we're all having one of those days : the four of us woke up somewhat askew. Whether it is allergies or a cold, we're not feeling well. So I decided to not take the kids to their usual martial arts class. But to minimize the askweness of the day, we followed part of our Monday "script" and procured the "start of the week" stash of candy.
And then, to make things more "different" I bought New York Magazine because this week's cover story caught my eye. Simply titled, The Choirboy, the hook goes : "The American Boychoir School in Princeton was a twisted sanctuary for the sexual abuse of children. Why is one of America's most famous lawyers taking it on? He was one of the victims". Needsless to say, I had to get this magazine. With all the child abuse scandals plaguing the Catholic Church, I was intrigued. So I immediately went on to page 28 while my two little boys were enjoying their Monday afternoon treat and I immediately broke down.
The lawyer and former abused choirboy is none other than Lawrence Lessig; a man who could only be described as force of nature on the internet.
It's because of this that nowadays, when working on a project, we always ask WWLLD? or "What would Lawrence Lessig do?" : We're not religious people but we do believe in the legal judgement of Lessig.
As one of the commenters over at Lessig's said, "Having high-profile, successful people step forward with their stories is important. It makes the burden easier to carry for others, and it shows in a practical way that though such a past will always -color- you to some degree, it doesn't need to -define- you."
Yet it's the fact that he took on this legal challenge after losing one of the biggest and most important legal fights in his area of special --copyright and intellectual property-- that is more poignant. more this way»
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"Maybe this all seems funny, or trivial, but it's really not. It's about what girls want to be, what they're told they should be, and how they feel about who they are. . . I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I'd rather they be independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny -- a thousand things before 'thin.'
I'd rather they didn't give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do.
Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons.
Let them never be Stupid Girls. Rant over."
