A Nigerian boy who was branded a witch by his village and forced to drink poison was adopted by an NGO where he overcame the traumas of his past. Now 18, he dreams of helping others like himself.
Essien Emmanuel Esebre, who will soon attend college, hopes to study law so that he can help protect other victimized children. However, back in 2014, staying in his hometown of Mbokpu Oduobo, Akwa Ibom State, Essien’s life could not have looked more different.
According to Anja, deliverances are practices or rituals that are performed in Nigeria by groups to cleanse people of believed possession by demons and evil spirits.
“Essien’s case is exceptional because his rescue was filmed,” Anja told The Epoch Times. “These deliverances are not easy to access, let alone to film, because children are abused and sometimes die during deliverances.”
However, Anja’s husband, David Emmanuel Umem, found a pastor willing to allow them to film a deliverance. A child in the pastor’s village had been accused of being a witch, and that child was Essien.
“The deliverance started with a lot of singing and dancing,” said Anja. “We did not see Essien until many hours later, around 4 a.m., when some of the villagers brought him inside the church. He was tired and scared, but he was in a healthy condition.”
Essien recalls his experience of being accused of being a witch.
“I felt insecure ... I was aggressive and was suffering mentally and emotionally,” he said. “I was not able to talk to people ... due to the accusations, I was not allowed to buy in the general market, it was like the world had come to an end. I was even thinking of the place my parents and villagers would bury me when I am killed.”
He shared that his parents were told that after drinking poison, he would be able to “vomit the witch.”
Sharing more about the deliverance, Essien said: “I felt that I was going to vomit, but after some time, I felt uncomfortable and was made to rest for a while. Later, when I was conscious, I went to the toilet and discovered I was stooling blood, not [a] ‘witch.’”
Essien was then rescued by Anja and went to live in the Land of Hope children’s home in Eket alongside his sister, Idong, who was also accused of being a witch.
“They also wanted to perform a deliverance on her, but we stopped it,” Anja said. “It was important for Essien’s mental recovery to have his sister by his side; we have many siblings at Land of Hope, and children who are traumatized due to abuse recover faster when they have a brother or sister by their side.”
Since his first day at Land of Hope, Essien thought there‘d be a machine he’d be put on that would help him “vomit the witch.”
“But to my surprise, it was not so,” Essien said. “From that time onward, my life has been transformed.”
Essien was registered in a school, and he learned about the superstitions that had put his life at risk. But the rejection by his parents was painful, and he struggled to trust others.
“Before the witchcraft accusation, I used to eat with my siblings, but after the accusation, it was not so,” Essien said. “My parents started calling me names that I was so disturbed about. They would call people and ask me to detect if they are witches or not.
“My parents would say they suffered to give birth to me, and named me after their parents, but instead I became the source of their problems.”
Due to this past abuse, Essien had a lot of anger built up inside and thus he acted out at Land of Hope, being violent toward the other children. But his education and the professional care and love of the staff encouraged him to heal. He also found an outlet for his anger: sports.
“It was very significant to see that incredible change in him,” said Anja, who’s seen Essien’s development over the past nine years. “Essien has grown a passion for boxing, and he practices four times every week in the local boxing club. He has great talent in many different sports.”
Seven months after Essien’s rescue, when Anja gave birth to her son, David Jr., Essien bonded quickly with the baby boy, helping Anja to feed, change, and carry him. Idong, too, lent a hand with the baby, and loved babysitting him.
Essien soon grew closer to the other children. He said: “My bond with the children at Land of Hope is strong. We love ourselves, we communicate, and most importantly, we respect our different personalities. We value each other.”
According to Anja, more than 10,000 children are accused of being witches in Nigeria every single year. Many are tortured; some are killed.
“Our work is worth the fight,” she said, “and no matter the challenges we face, we will never give up. We are the children’s voices, and they need us to speak up and fight for justice.”
Siblings Essien and Idong exemplify the home’s mission. Now healthy and healed, they are both “brilliant students,” excited to continue their education at college. Essien feels he owes his second chance at life to Anja and David.
“From the day they took me away from the hostility of the environment I lived in—my family and village—I loved them and am still loving them,” he said. “I promise to join hands in fighting harmful traditional practices in my community after my university education.”
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