In March, Nigeria's notorious witch hunter, Helen Ukpabio, is organising a “Deliverance Session” in the United States, according to infomation posted on the web site of the Liberty Gospel Church. The event is slated for March 14-25 at Liberty Gospel Church in Houston, Texas. The program is said to be “12 days of battling with the spirit for freedom.”

Humanist organizations from Nigeria and across the world are condemning Nigeria's Senate for passing a bill that would criminalise same-sex marriage, outlaw LGBT advocacy groups, and even ban displays of amorous affection between people of the same sex.

The June issue of YouthSpeak is now available online. This issue of the magazine from the International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization (IHEYO) includes articles of interest to Humanists of all ages and in all locations.

The Nigerian Humanist Movement, an IHEU member organization, is marking its 15^th anniversary with a conference in the federal capital of Abuja. The conference, from September 22 to 25, is titled “Humanism as the Next Step” and is open to all Humanists.

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) has called on the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) to work for the abolition of blasphemy laws throughout the continent. Speaking on Saturday, April 30th, at the 49th session of the ACHPR in Banjul, The Gambia, IHEU representative Leo Igwe said that blasphemy laws “justify and sanctify tyranny, hatred, intolerance, forced conversion, intimidation and violence.”

On Tuesday, January 11, around 5pm, I was arrested along with my driver and a photographer in front of a bank in Uyo Akwa State in Southern Nigeria. I arrived in Akwa Ibom on Sunday, January 9 to rescue two alleged witch children abused and abandoned by their families. One of the kids, eight year old Esther Obot Moses, was living with a mad man who had raped her several times.

Leo Igwe, IHEU Representative for Southern and Western Africa, has led a rescue of two children accused of witchcraft. The children, who were living with a member of a family known for trafficking children, were rescued on February 11 and handed over to the local authority who will now care for them. Every year in the Nigerian state of Akwa Ibom, thousands of children are accused of witchcraft, and then abused, abandoned or ejected from their homes. These children are forced to live on the streets, or abandoned buildings, and are often trafficked for sex or slave labour.

On January 11, 2011, I led a team of police officers who rescued an 8 year old girl, Esther Obot Moses in remote village, Nsit Ubium, in Akwa Ibom State in Southern Nigeria. Esther, according to locals was accused of witchcraft and abandoned by her family.

IHEU representative Leo Igwe has been imprisoned and beaten by police while rescuing two children accused of witchcraft. The incident, in Uyo Akwa State in Southern Nigeria on January 11, is the latest installment in an on-going campaign of harassment against IHEU’s representative for Southern and West Africa. Following interventions by IHEU, Igwe was released after spending a day and night in jail.

To quote the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch, “An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.”  This is also true for the world as a whole.