One of Culture Kitchen's regular bloggers is Leo Igwe, a Humanist living in Nigeria and fighting against religious extremism. Most recently he has been campaigning against child abuse by an extremist Christian sect in Nigeria and this has gotten him attacked by a mob and harassed by police. The extremist Christian sect sued Leo and several other child rights activists in Nigeria.

Today we hear from Leo that a judge has dropped all of the fictitious charges against him. Here's a press release from Leo:

February 4 2010

Helen Ukpbabio: Court Strikes out Case against Child Rights Campaigners

Today the Federal High Court in Calabar struck out the case brought against me and other child rights campaigners including the government of Akwa Ibom state by Helen Ukpabio and other members of the Liberty Gospel Church. In November Helen and some of her church members went to court seeking to enforce their rights to believe in God, Satan and witchcraft. They claimed that the seminars and conferences organised in Nigeria by the Nigerian Humanist Movement and other child rights groups to tackle witchcraft related abuses infringed on their rights to spread the gospel. They asked the court to order us to pay them two hundred billion naira(I.3 billion dollars) as damages for unlawful and unconstitutional infringement of their rights.

For the second time, Helen and her lawyers were not in court. So the lawyer leading the defence team, Barrister Madaki asked the court to strike out the case due lack of diligent prosecution. And the court granted his request.

The striking out of this case is a welcome development. It is a victory for justice, human rights and the rule of law in Nigeria. This decision by the court is a vindication of the child rights campaigners and the great work they are doing rescuing and saving the lives of children abused and abandoned in the name of witchcraft in Nigeria. It is a clear evidence that Helen Ukpabio and her church members have no case.

They instituted this court action to stop their arrest and prosecution for the attack of July 29 in Calabar.

Nigerian Humanist Movement and its partner groups will continue to work and campaign to eradicate all forms of human rights abuses in the name of witchcraft.

Leo Igwe, Ibadan, Nigeria  read more »

One year ago, Kieth Olbermann said it just right:

What I don't understand is how two consenting adults loving each other threatens anyone else? My marriage isn't threatened if gays can marry!

I only noticed this through an indirect route. His name came up in a discussion on Kiva I came across for other reasons. But it seems on July 30th, Leo Igwe, who sometimes writes articles for Culture Kitchen, was attacked by a mob in Nigeria. This is from a letter written by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (which Leo works for) the Nigerian High Commission in the UK:

According to an eye-witness account, about two hundred members of Liberty Gospel Church stormed the venue of the symposium on Thursday, 30 July. They attacked Mr Igwe, took his bag, his camera and his mobile phone as well as destroying his spectacles. Liberty Gospel Church, led by Helen Akpabio, has been alleged to have held ‘trials’ of children suspected of being witches and many of these children have been killed after having been found guilty by such ‘trials’.

And from an article on AllAfrica.com:  read more »

The good news about the internet is, as we've all discovered, the bad news. Cheap, more or less instant, emails from people we love, respect or want to get close to call us to sign petitions, write mass emails to save the seals, the polar bears, the carriage horses....(fill in your cause here). I try to respond until my wrist gets tired, never to send an appeal on to my friends ...but.

Please consider signing on the the current campaign of a group which I like (but not because I like it). The Campaign For Peace & Democracy asked me -- and I ask you -- to sign a petition to Iranian authorities to safeguard human rights, women's rights activist, 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi .

Why bother? Will the Ayatollahs listen to me, you and any number of other US leftists? I don't know. But I do know the sense of isolation which oppresses people like Shirin Ebadi. Besieged by a hostile and oppressive government, this petition is a lifeline. Invisibility is death; visibility can save lives and promote freedom where it is at risk. Click here or read the statement in full after the jump  read more »

Don't have much to add to this except I am also a straight man from a family of straight folks who support Marriage Equality and just don't get this whole homophobic anti-gay marriage movement:

What I don't understand is how two consenting adults loving each other threatens anyone else? My marriage isn't threatened if gays can marry!