On January 20, 2025, a roundtable discussion in Nigeria’s Yola (Adamawa State) on ‘Witch hunts and human rights violations’
On January 20, 2025, Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW)—in association with the Adamawa State office of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)—would organize a roundtable discussion titled ‘Witch hunts and human rights violations’ in the capital city of Yola.
The event would start at 10 AM that day at the NHRC office, whose address is as follows:
1st Floor, Office Number 175-175b
Federal Secretariat Yola,
Yola Road
Any queries about the event can be made on the following phone numbers: +234-8136-968-164 & +234-8130-593-605
Open to the public, this roundtable discussion is just one step in a long series of similar efforts undertaken by Igwe and AfAW over the course of several years in Nigeria and other parts of Africa toward fighting persecution of people (especially women and girls) suspected and accused of being witches or black magicians.
In a Facebook post of January 8 announcing this event, Igwe underscored its gravity of sorts via the following cryptic remark prefacing its digital poster: ‘After many years of planning, this @AllegedFor event is happening...’
This is a screenshot of a digital poster announcing the event; prepared by AfAW, the poster has been circulated on the Internet by AfAW’s Founder & CEO, Leo Igwe.
Notably, this event comes against the backdrop of the manhandling of Ulli Schauen, a German radio journalist, in a Calabar church by the followers of Helen Ukpabio in December 2024. In an interview with Thoughtfox in July 2024, Igwe—a University of Calabar (Philosophy) alum—had flagged Ukpabio for her habit of instigating violence against alleged witches.
Yola, the capital of Adamawa State, is the stronghold of Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar—who also founded and runs the American University of Nigeria (AUN) there.
The NHRC’s Adamawa State’s office is coordinated by Ms. Grace Mamza.