Humanitarian issue- Child witches and autism report

Hi everyone, I read some years ago about children in Nigeria who have autism being singled out in communities as being a witch or being possessed by the devil. There are other vulnerable children also who are singled out in this way as well, some may have been born physically disabled etc. This is happening in several diverse countries as well labelling children as child witches. This has happened and happening today in countries such as Angola, Uganda, The Gambia, South Africa, Sierra Leone, The Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Ethiopia and other Sub Saharan countries. This practice grew in South Africa during COVID. This also has been reported in other countries today as far wide as England which if it is experienced is treated as abuse and sometimes it can lead to safeguarding. According to a 2025 Guardian article in the year running to March 2024 alone, the Department for Education (DfE) recorded 2,180 assessments of “abuse linked to faith or belief. These people are misusing Christianity and people may be harmed and this needs to be eradicated

I will say this that as a Christian and someone who is diagnosed with autism this case does move me this story. I am a Christian and God knows how to manage my autism and has done several times in my life. I was blessed with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit at 17 that has equipped me to cope in life and I am under God's divine protection. Psalm 139 says that God created me for a purpose and that we are all wonderfully and fearfully made.

At 17 I served in the church ministry using my spiritual gifts. I am part of Jesus kingdom to as an autistic, we can all be members of the Body of Christ regardless of what conditions we have. My testimony of my faith can be found on this blog where I give an account of serving the Lord in the church.

I am Christian and also a humanitarian. After a degree in major in religious studies and minor in communications. I studied International relations and covered human rights, the UN, conflict resolution and religion amongst other subjects.

Any person has the capability for the devil to tempt and use them we know from the New Testament. So, based on this I would argue that it was possible for anyone to be tempted and used by the devil and we all need to use Jesus' teachings to overcome evil. Labelling children wrongly as child witch based on solely having a condition and often a severe type is grossly wrong. There are though people in our community who are more vulnerable who may experience stigma, lies and injustice because of having a disability. We have to take them into our protective arm as Christians.

Autism is not a spiritual attack and everything God makes is good. God is it at liberty to use an autistic person for his glory as he has done with me and help us to manage our conditions by being baptised through the Holy Spirit. I cannot deny though God’s power and authority and nobody can limit Christ. This though is not the article to uncover Jesus’ miracles. The majority of us though God will leave as we are and support us to praise him with our blessings.

Remember this-we will be judged according to our conditions by God who created us and any sin post original sin for human kind will be cleansed by Christ for all of us who obey the law. We are all God’s children and are created for a divine purpose (Acts 17:28). "And he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.”

I felt moved and drawn to this topic and I did donate to Patrick School of Languages in Nigeria which is a legitimate school for those who are neurodiverse or have a learning disability and also reached and supported to CRARN which is mentioned in my article. As Christians we are asked to give charitably (Luke 12:33).

What is the situation and how can we help?

There are still stories today of children being labelled as witches who are autistic and who experience other disabilities today. In 2022 in Liberia 22 children (8 boys and 14 girls) were accused of witchcraft.

I return now to Nigeria and examine how the issue of traditional religion fused with Christianity is impacting on a very small proportion of children’s lives in the Akwa Ibom case. I choose this case as I cannot cover every state. There are other known states in Nigeria like Cross River where this has been a problem. It is a criminal act today in Nigeria to promote child witch hunting and this was banned in 2008, but things are slow on the ground and moving slowly to improve and we need more help and support to eliminate this illegal act.

During the colonial rule traditional practises were targeted such as traditional religion and sacrificial practices but this has re-emerged in recent times.

There are false ministers who also maybe looking for financial gain in some Pentecostal and Charismatic Christian church's also and some may use traditional practises also that call for animal sacrifice or another ritual ceremony such as the disposal of possessions or marking the child with animal blood. Instead of being called a witch, some people may be called a demon by outdated people as well for having the condition-such as was the case of Rev Rachel Noel when she was ordained and was diagnosed with autism. Some may tell family members that their loved one are witches this can drive wedges between family members. These services can be arranged privately and take place not during normal service and can become hidden.

People can pay sums of money to ministers in hope that they can remove their loved out of this supernatural realm by being used as a witch/demon agent. These children may experience numerous deliverances as well or exorcisms which are not needed which can leave them exhausted and confused an akin to a mere skeleton which may cloud their mind with fear that they have been a tool of the devil and built to be as well. This is scheming and mind games as well.

This can no doubt cause some family members to reject or abuse their loved ones and drive them away and become exiled from their home. This situation can be experienced worse due to poverty and disability which can cause some people to end up blaming other people for all their so called bad luck. It is often extremely difficult to be disabled in a lower income country where support can be hard to find or not available. I have seen young people on skateboards and an amputee trying to find income on the streets, at 25 it was a disturbing sight to see for the first time.

A centre called CRARN and an organisation called Stepping Stones Nigeria have emerged to deal with this challenge. There are other special needs schools which have been set up to provide education and humane treatment for individuals meeting this group. The Patrick School of Languages in Nigeria is an example of one such school that has been established form the efforts of a parent whose child experienced discrimination being told they their child was a spiritual attack and they was discriminated.

The governor of Akwa Ibom state passed the Child’s Rights act so that people could be prosecuted that demonise and stigmatise a child in such a manner. This does just not happen to children but I am focusing on children in this blog post. The enactment of the Child’s Right act did not stop all cases from happening as people close ranks to make it harder for them to be made accountable to the law. There was also a case in the UK in 2006 when a child’s body was found in the River Thames. The police named this child ‘Adam’ police did believe that this murder was ritual related.

Using conflict resolution the children that are abandoned by their parents in such centres I do think that it would be beneficial if such parents were counselled in a group by a minister over a few days in faith that can point out to the flaws in their thinking. Their beliefs do need to be challenged. Returning to the community might be difficult and if there is a head of a village they should try in mediate in this situation as they are normally respected in their communities. Also if these children cannot return home from fear of attack from other members in the village I would suggest that relocating them might help to unite parent and child. Also, banning such films that may encourage this sort of abuse I do believe is also a good idea.

I have given my life to life to Christ who I work voluntary for by documenting my life experience with my faith online and also by working as a hospital chaplain volunteer and activity coordinator once a week in a hospital and also do voluntary gardening at church-this topic is important to me. I do not have children of my own. I will not have children of my own, let’s see what we can do to help. If you feel moved by this topic-why not help them.

I hit my button again and donated today for the second time to CRARN which link you will find below. God has said we should be involved in justice and humanitarian issues and dismantling them. One of the five missions of the church is to support injustice.

Let’s see what we can do to help. If you feel moved by this topic-why not help them.

I have suffered from religious and spiritual abuse in my life.

This culture of abuse needs to be stopped. There is a way out of religious abuse and you can seek support. In Nigeria children with autism have more neurological issues with it.