Eket, Akwa Ibom State
In a heartrending plea for justice, 10-year-old Samuel Sunday Okon, a primary school pupil from Akpautong in Esit Eket Local Government Area, has revealed horrific experiences of torture at the hands of close family members.
According to Samuel, his grandmother, stepmother, aunties, and uncles tied his limbs, beat him with iron rods and sticks, and branded his body with hot machetes. He was locked away in a dark room for weeks, without food, until he became frail and near death. Abandoned and left to perish, he was rescued and fed by compassionate members of the community who gave him medication that helped him survive.
Desperate for refuge, Samuel took his story to the police at Esit Eket Divisional Headquarters, Uquo. Officers visited his paternal home but found no one. They tracked his grandmother to her church, Christ Apostolic Church, where the pastor, Bassey Asuke, intervened, promising peace. Yet Samuel's ordeal continued unabated.
The tragedy began after a pastor in Okon-Eket branded him a “wizard,” prompting his maternal grandmother to return him to his father's family—where the torture escalated. “If I really had witch powers, wouldn’t I have defended myself?” Samuel asked, still bewildered by the accusations.
Upon returning home, his father, Mr. Sunday Peter Okon, was horrified and brought him to the Child's Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) for safety. There, under the care of CRARN Chairperson Elizabeth Wilson-Itauma, Samuel is healing but demanding justice for the abuses he endured.
Samuel’s case underscores the urgent need for enforcement of Nigeria’s Child Rights Law and aggressive sensitization campaigns to dismantle harmful superstitions and protect innocent lives.
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