konga Ad Campaign konga Ad Campaign konga Ad Campaign
ADVERTISEMENT
  • The Membership Club
  • #EndSARS Dashboard
  • PT Hausa
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Premium Times Nigeria
  • Home
  • Gender
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Special Reports and Investigations
      • Health Specials
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Special Reports/Investigations
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • #EndSARS Dashboard
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
  • #PandoraPapers
  • AUN-PT Data Hub
  • Home
  • Gender
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Special Reports and Investigations
      • Health Specials
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Special Reports/Investigations
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects
    • #EndSARS Dashboard
    • Parliament Watch
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
  • #PandoraPapers
  • AUN-PT Data Hub
Premium Times Nigeria
BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Helen Ukpabio sues UK rights groups for £500 million

Helen Ukpabio sues UK rights groups for £500 million

byBen Ezeamalu
September 1, 2014
3 min read

Nigerian preacher and founder of the Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries, Helen Ukpabio, has sued two UK human rights groups for £500 million( N130 billion).

Ms. Ukpabio is accusing British Humanist Association, BHA, and the Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network, WHRIN, of libel.

According to the preacher, her teachings that a child “under the age of two” who exhibits certain “symptoms” may be possessed by vampire spirits have been misrepresented by the groups.

A child under the age of two who is “possessed with black, red and vampire witchcraft spirits” can be identified by features such as s/he “screams at night, cries, is always feverish, suddenly deteriorates in health, puts up an attitude of fear, and may not feed very well,” according to Ms. Ukpabio.

The preacher said children who stamp their feet may be “trying to make signs… to communicate with gnomes, the witchcraft spirit in charge of the earth.”

A statement by the groups to PREMIUM TIMES, Monday, quoted Ms. Ukpabio as stating that the BHA and WHRIN had misrepresented her by saying that she ascribed these symptoms to Satanic possession and hence had damaged her reputation and livelihood to the sum of half a billion pounds.

Andrew Copson, BHA’s Chief Executive, described the legal action against his group as an attempt by Ms. Ukpabio to silence her critics.

“Given her baseless identification of features of ‘possessed children’ and her dangerous and irresponsible teachings we feel a strong moral duty to point this out and will not be deflected by libel suits from wealthy ‘witch-finders,’ Mr. Copson said.

“The fact that she is threatening to launch a legal claim for half a billion pounds over an alleged distinction between being accused of exorcising ‘Satan’ or ‘Vampires’ tells you all you need to know about Ms Ukpabio.

“Threats of legal action like this are blatant attempts to silence critics of the harms done by these religious and superstitious beliefs and rituals. Rather than entertaining her vexatious claims in the courts, we believe the UK should be ensuring that Ms Ukpabio and her ilk are denied entry to our country to protect children from their degrading practices,” he added.

Last April, several UK activists launched a campaign for the government to ban and deport Ms. Ukpabio, who had flown into the country at the time, accusing her of being a “risk to youngsters.”

Gary Foxcroft, Executive Director of WHRIN said that the court case is the latest in a long line of “unsuccessful legal actions” that Ms. Ukpabio had pursued against him and other human rights activists.

“Previous cases were thrown out of court in Nigeria but this time she is looking to take action in a UK court,” Mr. Foxcroft said.

“I have no doubt that a judge in the UK will reach the same conclusion as those in Nigeria. Of course, the real question here is whether our government should allow hate preachers like Helen Ukpabio to enter the UK.

“Since her teachings have been linked to widespread child abuse in reports by the United Nations, and various other bodies, it would appear that this may not be in the public interest. This case also therefore provides the Home Secretary and the National Working Group to Tackle Child Abuse linked to Faith and Belief with a great opportunity to take concrete action, condemn the practices of such pastors and ensure that justice is served,” he added.

In his reaction the suit, Mark Stephens, the lawyer representing the defendants in the suit, said that British libel laws must never be abused to censor matters of such public importance.

“We thought witch-finding had been left behind in all civilized societies since the death of the last Witch-finder general, Matthew Hopkins in 1644. Hopkins had pursued innocent people – often elderly women living alone – persecuted and executed them on the basis of a primitive and superstitious belief that they were witches,” said Mr. Stephens of HowardKennedyFSI.

“The horrific consequences of such beliefs are demonstrated in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible.

“Whilst the medieval methods of Matthew Hopkins are no longer used to “identify witches”, of course, we must remain ever vigilant of the danger of persecution of innocent children – babies, even – being branded as witches by latter-day self-styled witch-finders with perverse and pernicious views. These people must not be allowed to identify the vulnerable as witches. Freedom of speech is at its most precious when it permits voices to be raised against such evil,” he added.

  • WhatsApp
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Telegram
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket



Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility

Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.

For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.

By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.

Donate


TEXT AD: Call Willie - +2348098788999






PT Mag Campaign AD

Previous Post

Nigerian security forces ‘deliberately’ killed thousands of civilians – Report

Next Post

Rivers government still searching for 50 ‘high risk’ Ebola suspects – Commissioner

Ben Ezeamalu

Ben Ezeamalu

Ben Ezeamalu is an Assistant Managing Editor and the Head of Lagos Operations/Metro Editor at PREMIUM TIMES. A graduate of Microbiology from the University of Jos, Ben won the 2015 Africa Fact-Check Awards and was a runner-up in the 2014 CNN/Multichoice African Journalists of the Year. Twitter: @callmebenfigo.

More News

Debt Management Office (DMO) boss, Patience Oniha. [PHOTO CREDIT: Official Web page of DMO] Eurobonds

Debt Profile: Revenue generation is Nigerian govt’s main challenge – DMO

July 3, 2022
President Muhammadu Buhari returns to Nigeria

Buhari returns to Abuja after State Visit to Portugal

July 3, 2022
Map Of Kano

Kano Fire Service saves 135 lives in June – Official

July 3, 2022
Passengers filling into a BRT bus at Ojota Bus station

PDP condemns hike in BRT fares in Lagos, wants reversal

July 3, 2022
FILE: Court and justice symbols used to illustrate the story

Man jailed for raping 15-year-old girl in Edo

July 2, 2022
Dayo Olaide, McArthur Foundation, Nigeria deputy director, while delivering his remarks

Group canvasses youth inclusion in Nigeria’s agenda 2050

July 2, 2022
Next Post
Amaechi raises alarm on rights abuses in Rivers; says Niger Delta risks “Baga Massacre” if …

Rivers government still searching for 50 'high risk' Ebola suspects – Commissioner

polio-victims

Bayelsa records 18 polio cases in eight months

Read All Comment

Search

AUN-PT Ad




Access Bank Ad







Subscribe to News via Email

Enter your email address and receive notifications of news by email.

Join 13,450 other subscribers.

Advertisement




netherland biz school Advert



ADVERTISEMENT

Our Digital Network

  • PT Hausa
  • Election Centre
  • Human Trafficking Investigation
  • Centre for Investigative Journalism
  • National Conference
  • Press Attack Tracker
  • PT Academy
  • Dubawa
  • LeaksNG
  • Campus Reporter

Resources

  • Oil & Gas Facts
  • List of Universities in Nigeria
  • LIST: Federal Unity Colleges in Nigeria
  • NYSC Orientation Camps in Nigeria
  • Nigeria’s Federal/States’ Budgets since 2005
  • Malabu Scandal Thread
  • World Cup 2018
  • Panama Papers Game
  • Our Digital Network
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • Projects
  • Data & Infographics
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

No Result
View All Result
  • #PandoraPapers
  • Gender
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Health
    • COVID-19
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Investigations
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Multimedia
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • #EndSARS Dashboard
  • Projects
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • Parliament Watch
    • AGAHRIN
  • AUN-PT Data Hub
  • Opinion
  • The Membership Club
  • DONATE
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • PT Hausa
  • Dubawa NG
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Store

All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria

Our website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.