Court rules against Helen Ukpabio and the Liberty Gospel Church
Today a Federal High Court in Calabar in Cross River State, presided over by Justice P.J. Nneke, dismissed the application by Helen Ukpabio and some members of the Liberty Gospel Church seeking to enforce their fundamental rights against Akwa Ibom state government, the Commissioner of Police of Cross River state, Assistant Inspector General of Police, Leo Igwe, Sam Ituama, Gary Foxcroft and others as respondents for daring to organize a workshop which they perceived to be critical of their activities. They asked the respondents to pay them 200 billion naira ($.1.3 million dollars) in damages.
The court wondered why Helen and her church members attacked some of the respondents and still came to court to enforce their fundamental rights for the mere reason that the victims of the attack dared report the matter to the police. The court dismissed the application and awarded costs of 20,000 naira(184 dollars) against Helen and her church members. Helen Ukpabio, her church members and her lawyers were not in court today for the ruling.
It should be recalled that last year over 150 thugs from Helen Ukpabio’s Liberty Gospel Church invaded the venue of a workshop on Witchcraft and Child Rights in Calabar. They attacked and beat up the organizers of the program. The police intervened and arrested some of them; in their statement they said they were sent by Helen Ukpabio to disrupt the event. Shortly after the arrest, Helen and her church members went to court to enforce their fundamental rights. Early this year, Helen’s lawyers did not appear in court on two occasions and the court had to strike out the case. But a month later, the leader of her legal team Victor Ukutt went to court and re-listed the case.
“This is a landmark judgment and a victory of the rule of law over the law of the jungle. I am greatly delighted that the court has sent a strong message to Helen and her church members who have continued to use their connections to evade justice and to undermine the cause of reason, enlightenment and human rights.”
I guess those would be the right never to be criticized, and the right to act above the law. Nigeria sure has a funny legal system.
Strikingly many dogmatic religionists apparently want to establish a fundamental right to harm people they don’t like. Which rather invalidates the point of having rights at all, one would think.
Well, they don’t really like rights, do they? They believe that if everybody did what God commands, it would all work out. The trouble is, it’s not easy to “work out” what precisely God does command, because (a) in the scriptures he tends to change his mind, or contradict himself, or get things wrong, and (b) interpreting what he says (in the scriptures) is a vexatious business, involving a lot of quarrelling and violence – and violence is at least one thing they know how to do very well. Then there is (c), the fact that after dictating his scriptures, God fell strangely silent; we now have only his visionaries and interpreters, whom to believe requires faith in them rather than in God. This would suggest that dear Helen’s forays into intimidation and litigation are an attempt to shore up the religious “authority” she claims.
Just think, all these people who are so sure that they know the will of God that they can oppose the law, act beyond the law, determine the fate of countless people, and commit any injustice, any atrocity. The claim of religious leaders to rights which they would deny to millions is the utmost in cynicism.
[…] Nigeria: Christian thugs lose court case Butterflies and Wheels. […]
[…] by Helen Ukpabio Dismissed Posted on December 15, 2010 by Richard Bartholomew Leo Igwe reports on a legal defeat suffered by “Lady Apostle” Helen Ukpabio in her attempt to suppress […]
It doesnt matter how much education a person may claim, once ignorant always ignorant. These people and their Kangaroo court system is simply a joke and should never be taken seriously.
[…] Nigeria has since outlawed accusing a child of witchcraft. A law challenged by Ukpabio, who tried to sue the Akwa Ibom state government, local police, and relief charities for damages and an exemption from the law. Failing in that […]
[…] Nigeria has since outlawed accusing a child of witchcraft. A law challenged by Ukpabio, who tried to sue the Akwa Ibom state government, local police, and relief charities for damages and an exemption from the law. Failing in that […]
[…] a West African evangelical literalist who believes that witchcraft and she is willing to use force to promote her beliefs. If a child under the age of two screams in the night, cries and is always feverish with […]
What should be taken seriously is the rights of all the children who fell victim to being accused of witchcraft all because of a ridiculous video that Helen Ukpabio made!