Photos: Four children branded witches by prophets and abandoned by parents rescued in Akwa Ibom State

Four female children were on October 25th, rescued by a good samaritan around 1:00 AM in the night in Abak, Akwa Ibom.

According to Child's Right And Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) the children whose origins are yet to be identified said they were told in a prayer house that they were witches, an allegation which compelled their parents to abandon them in another prayer house where they went to for deliverance, without bringing them food. 

Their parents later came to the church at the instance of the pastor, picked them and put them in a waiting car which drove them to the Abak bridge where they were again abandoned.

The children were malnourished and seen with wounds, bruises, and scars in different parts of their body indicative of variant degrees of torture, which of course are not uncommon with children who suffer similar faith consequent upon witchcraft stigmatization.

"My father said he's afraid of God, he would have killed us as instructed by the prophets." one of the children said.

Speaking after the rescue, a right activist said: "Children have continued to be abandoned in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria over witchcraft allegation by parents after desperate and nouveau riche pastors and prophets label witches/wizards and made their parents force them on the streets if not killed. These children were lucky to be rescued yesterday in the wee hours of the night at Abak new bridge otherwise, they would have been picked by the lurking human traffickers or ritual killers who maraud the streets in search of children for diabolic purposes.

"Different states in Nigeria, mostly Akwa Ibom, Cross River and River States,remain the hotbed for children abandonment due to witchcraft accusations. Lagos and Ekiti have also been reported to be in the high rank of witchcraft allegation on children and elderly people in recent times which lead to their death and forceful incapacitation"