Woman Forced To Live With Daughter’s Corpse For 14 Months

A stirring story of a woman forced to live with the corpse of her daughter for 14 months… until God’s intervention came through His servant, Prophet TB Joshua…

For a year and two months, an 80-year-old woman was made to sleep in the same room with the corpse of her 48-year old daughter who died mysteriously in Akwa Ibom State.

The octogenarian, Madam Akon Etta, who hails from Osu Udesi, in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, was accused of witchcraft and alleged to have killed her daughter, Dorcas Affiong Etim, who until her death, was trading in neighbouring Cotonou, Benin Republic. Trouble reportedly began for the aged woman, who is now taking refuge at the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Lagos, after she mysteriously lost four of her 12 children to various illnesses.

P.M. News learnt from Mrs. Cherish Otoyo, Madam Akon’s 34-year-old daughter, who came to testify to the incident at the Synagogue Church, that the late Dorcas had come from Cotonou, her base, for the burial of one of their late siblings. Dorcas, according to Cherish, arrived the village a day after the internment of their late brother and left after the burial activities were over.

She further said that on returning to Cotonou, Dorcas became ill and was rushed back home where she died barely three weeks after the death of her brother. This incident, coupled with the declaration of a so-called prophet, who was later exposed as a fake, prompted the rumour that the old woman was a witch and had a hand in the successive death of her four children.

Mrs. Otoyo, who resides in Ghana with her husband, Jere Otoyo, as missionaries, said the prophet told them that if they buried her late sister (Dorcas), one other person would die almost immediately. This proclamation reportedly scared the Etim family members and their community, forcing them to put Dorcas’ burial on hold indefinitely.

“Since the prophet said another person would die if we bury our sister, everyone was scared. None of us wanted to die and my brothers and sisters ran away from home. “The prophet also told them that there is the ghost of our late sister hovering around the house and they actually complained that they heard movements at night around the house. That was why they ran away,” she told P.M. News.

The old woman was said to have faced persecution and ridicule from the villagers. When asked how she felt during the 14 month period the corpse of her daughter remained in her room, she lamented in tears that it was agonising. “It was a painful experience, I was always going into the room to light the lantern at night. “I also slept in the room at night with the embalmed corpse on the bed,” she recalled, adding that her relationship with the villagers became strained and she was also accused of inflicting some persons with barenness. “After the incident, they would attribute any death in the village to my purpoted witchcraft,” she said.

Abandonded with a corpse for 14 long months...

Her ordeal was made known by her son-in-law and husband of Cherish (Mrs Otoyo) who visited the Synagogue Church for a prayer session. It was learnt that the church’s head, Prophet T.B. Joshua, who exonerated Madam Akon of the allegation, also assisted the family with the burial of the late Dorcas recently. The church purchased the casket in which the corpse, which had become decomposed, was buried, as well as donated the sum of N150,000 and some bags of rice to the family.

Commenting on the incident, Prophet Joshua, who called it ‘a spiritual battle and one of the greatest deliverances in the history of mankind’, added that activities of false prophets have caused a lot of damage to the world. “I have told her to forgive everyone who offended her and that she should also count on me, as I am now one of her children. “If this old woman had died innocently like that, there would have been a generational curse on the entire family and village because she is innocent and would have died in pains,” Joshua said.

SOURCE: The PM News, Modern Ghana

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‘How Many People Are Praying For You…’ – TB Joshua

An article in the popular Daily Champion detailing the stunning events of Sunday 13th September, including an array of inspirational words of wisdom…

General Overseer of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations, Prophet Temitope Joshua has said persecution brought him tremendous blessing. He said as he was being hounded by a few individuals in the society, thousands, especially the less privileged across the world, were praying for his wellbeing. Joshua said during a special Sunday Service at the Ikotun Lagos Headquarters of the church that many lives had been touched around the world through his ministry, who are also praying for increase of God’s blessings on him.

The service also witnessed the reconciliation of some ostracized children from Abiakelibi Village in Akwa-Ibom State with their family members. The children, who were accused of killing their mother through witchcraft, were also given a cash donation by Prophet Joshua during the service.

He told the worshippers that God’s blessings have increased in his life as a result of persecution he received while fulfilling his assignment on earth. “The more they persecute me, the more the favour of God upon my life. The more they persecute me, the more God will increase my blessing. Many people are praying that God should bless TB Joshua. There are thousands all over the world who are praying for Joshua, how many people are praying for you,” he said.

He said the open display of his donations to the less privileged people in the society was to encourage his members to do likewise to the needy in their midst saying that his intention was not to show off or attract praise. He urged the congregation to make giving part of their lives, noting that givers would always receive breakthrough from God.

“What we are doing is not to show off, but to teach the people to do what we are doing by helping the poor in the society. Giving is part of my life. The only problem is that people don’t give out what they cherish. It is when you don’t have that you can give what your life depends on.”

“You need prayers from orphans, widows, widowers, the fatherless and poor in the society. If widows and orphans pray for you, you will receive your breakthrough immediately. Life is all about giving and someone somewhere is in need of what you have. It could be your strength or your love – but in any direction you look, you will see those who are in need of your love,” he said.

Prophet TB Joshua Talks to Asuquo Etim Okon and his two siblings falsely accused of witchcraft

Joshua, who gave N1.6 million for the rehabilitation of the children and the burial of their mother, also promised scholarships to them. Some members of the Abiakelibi community including Etim Okon Edem, the children’s father who attended the service could not hide their excitement as they received their cash gift.

Narrating their ordeal to newsmen, 23 year old Asuquo Etim Okon, whose siblings were accused of witchcraft said the villagers abandoned their mother’s corpse for six months before the intervention of The Synagogue Church. He said he decided to take his siblings aged 11 and 12 years respectively to the church to seek God’s intervention and confirm if they were witch and wizard as alleged by the members of the community. He said not only did Joshua assure that the children were innocent, but that his visit to the church has opened a new chapter in the life of the family.

Innocent Okonkwo

SOURCE: Daily Champion – Tuesday September 15 2009 – Vol. 22 No. 184

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‘Witch-ful Thinking’: The National Blame Game

Yet another article from The Nigeria Village Square which discusses the human tendency to search for a scapegoat, and the positive impact of TB Joshua’s ministry of reconciliation…

In our society today, we take the accolades for our achievements, but finger certain forces behind our failures…

Can we call it the superstitious tendencies that permeate our African history and ‘local’ reasoning, or an easy way of shifting the burden of blame to the shoulder of another? Maybe it’s a combination of both – but this national blame game has been the bane of our nation for far too long.

Today, excuses and finger pointing are rampant. The moment our ‘breakthrough plans’ veer off course, and things don’t turn out the way we expect, there is someone or something that is surely behind it all, oftentimes under the manipulation of strange supernatural forces intent on our frustration and destruction. Wild prayer sessions or spiritual consultations tend to ensue, and a family member ‘in the village’ is often subjected to blind accusations with resulting shame and separation.

To make matters worse, religious organizations feast on this deception as an opportunity to further line their pockets. They openly declare little children, barely old enough to reason for themselves, or elderly mothers who are frail and cannot fight back, as symbols of wickedness and evil, namely witches and wizards – all as bait to collect cheap money from the desperate. Called to be symbols of peace and unity, ‘ministers of God’ have sadly become a source of separation and enmity in this regard. The case of Helen Ukpabio and the Akwa-Ibom ‘child-witches’ readily springs to mind. Innocent children are daily subjected to mental, emotional and physical torture after being labelled a ‘witch’ and homes are ripped apart through heated allegations and contentions. Thus, an easy ‘escape route’ for you brings dire consequences for many. When will this shameless madness end?

A child accused of witchcraft and subsequently abused physically...

Only last month, I watched on Emmanuel TV the tragic case of an elderly woman forced to sleep on her own mother’s grave after being thrown out of her home through such allegations of witchcraft, a claim unflinchingly confirmed by various ministries and spiritualists. Only divine intervention through the revelation, input and prayer of Pastor TB Joshua saved her from imminent death and reconciled the entire family – a family that had been broken and bruised through these malicious lies. It was a touching and practical example of the ministry of reconciliation, which all true ministers of God are called to.

However, on the other side of this blame game, we are quick to ascribe our success to our personal efforts. When things flow according to plan and results materialise, we proudly attribute it to our many painful sacrifices, diligent work ethic and hours of labour. Why is it we freely boast of our successes, but blindly apportion blame for our failures? Can we not see such actions and attitude are a clear contradiction and perversion of the truth?

Another small child, wrongfully accused of witchcraft...

The principle that governs our ways and works in life is simple, and can be found in the Holy Bible in Galatians 6:7 – “Whatsoever a man sows, that he shall reap…” Success or failure is mostly a product of your mind and time management. Refusal to realise such is simply warping reality to the detriment of maturity and growth. It is true supernatural forces of evil exist, but to blame them for every misfortune and calamity that comes your way is tantamount to a refusal to take up responsibility. And when you do not arrive at the firm conviction that you are responsible for your situation by your actions or inactions, you can never learn the lessons experience is willing to impart to you through it.

There is always a lesson in every situation. The successful are simply those willing to learn through every situation, grow through every error and mature through every experience. Choosing to be blind to these truths is choosing to fail.

The choice is yours.

SOURCES:
Nigeria Village Square
The Times Of Nigeria
Nigerians In America
Modern Ghana
Point Blank News

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In From The Cold…

Prophet T.B. Joshua re-unites a young girl abandoned in 1996 at the age of nine over witchcraft allegations with her mother

Oghenefejiro Iworo, a female Urhobo cultural music dancer from Ugheli, Delta was only nine years old in 1996 when she was abandoned by Esther, her mother. Her reason for taking such drastic action against her child was because the little girl was alleged to have belonged to the evil world of witches and wizards.

Wild accusations of witchcraft...

Esther claimed that she consulted a witch doctor in Ughelli who confirmed that her daughter was a witch and was responsible for the hardship and misfortunes she had encountered in life, including separation from her husband.

The witch doctor had taken the little girl to her shrine in Eku, tortured her by using a sharp knife to inflict deep cuts on her cheeks. The blood extracted from the deep cuts was then given to the girl to drink before she allegedly confessed that she was a witch.

The witch doctor then warned her mother that unless she disowned her daughter, she would use her power as a witch to kill her. She therefore advised her to take the girl to Badare Wegereva, her mother-in-law whom she alleged to have initiated Oghenefejiro into witchcraft.

Esther who believed what the witch doctor told her about her daughter was angry with her. She, therefore, did not hesitate to take her to her mother-in-law at the Ugheli market where she was trading, called her a witch and left the girl with her. Badare was dumbfounded as she could not understand why her daughter-in-law could publicly call her a witch and even accuse her of initiating Oghenefejiro into the witchcraft world.

Afraid that the little girl could actually be a witch as her mother claimed, Badare equally rejected her and took her to her maternal great grand mother who was in her 80s. Although the aged woman accepted her great grand daughter, she could not take care of her.

The little girl had no option than to become a street urchin. She roamed the streets begging for alms and later joined street kids who taught her how to smoke cigarette and having illicit affairs with men. No matter how Oghenefejiro tried to struggle for survival in life, the stigmatisation and abandonment by her mother continued to haunt her.

However, she later joined an Urhobo cultural dancing group but still lived a wayward lifestyle. It was in the process that she was impregnated by Dafe Iworo, a butcher from Ekakpame, Delta State who married her. Already, Oghenefejiro has given birth to a baby boy.

Unknown to Oghenefejiro’s mother, her decision to disown her own daughter 12 years ago had become a curse to her. Despite the fact that she left Ughelli for Lagos in search of greener pastures, Esther who is a caterer continued to have nightmares as she could not even fend for herself.

She, therefore, decided to seek divine intervention by going to the Synagogue Church of All Nations where T.B Joshua told her that she was suffering from a generational curse because she accused her daughter falsely of being a witch.

He told her that the curse would continue to haunt her until she is reunited with her daughter and begged her for forgiveness over the stigmatisation she was subjected to because of the accusation.

He also told her that the generational curse started from Micheal Akatakpo, her 60 year-old father who was an idol worshipper. Esther admitted that her father had similarly called her a wicth when she was nine years old. She, therefore, had to travel to Ughelli with pastors from the Synagogue Church of All Nations where they searched for her daughter until she was found. She also brought her father to the church where Joshua delivered them from the generational curse.

Joshua said it has become common for some parents to abandon their children in the streets over the allegation that they are witches. He wondered why a mother should subject her own child to such a traumatic experience. “It is rather unfortunate that a mother who carried a child in her womb for nine months or more, laboured to bring her forth, would later stigmatise the child as a witch and throw her away from her home into the street,” he said.

Worried by the trend, Stepping Stones, a UK registered charitable organisation is working in conjunction with the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network, CRARN, to transform the lives of children who have been stigmatised as witches and wizards.

Gary Foxcroft, programme director, Stepping Stones Nigeria, said their aims are to tackle the problems of ignorance and superstitious belief in child-witchcraft as well as eradicate the torture of children stigmatised as witches.

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