The Advocacy for Alleged Witches is disappointed by the way the police and government in Bayelsa are handling the case of children abused for witchcraft in the state. About a week ago, the police arrested an inspector, Sunday Idey, for accusing and subsequently abusing his children for belonging to a witch coven. People circulated images of the children with serious injuries on social media. The Advocacy for Alleged Witches contacted advocates in the state, and they confirmed the story. They noted that the children were in a hospital receiving treatment. Given the severity of the abuses, AfAW, with Do Foundation, and International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) applied to the Ministry for Women’s Affairs for temporary custody so that the children could be medically checked and rehabilitated before handing them over to the family. AfAW urges the commissioner of police to ensure proper investigation and prosecution of the suspect.
Meanwhile, from the information reaching the Advocacy for Alleged Witches, the police have compromised on this matter. Regarding the investigation, the police had asked the suspect to go for a psychiatric test. Sources in Yenegoa are saying the police had asked him to go for the test outside the state. AfAW had been informed that this was a way the police planned to get him to escape and evade prosecution. A legal expert in Yenegoa who heard about this development stated, “I have always suspected this. Why would it be the police who would evaluate the mental state of the perpetrator? If he wants to rely on insanity, we know that it is a defense, so it should be the defendant pleading it and proving the same, while the prosecution, whose duty is to prove guilt, counters the plea with superior evidence”. Apparently, the police are trying to exonerate the suspect without charging him in court. This is sad.
The Advocacy for Alleged Witches has messaged the Commissioner of Police(CP)notifying him about this concern: “Dear CP, I am writing concerning the case of a police inspector who has been arrested for abusing the children for witchcraft. We are worried about how the case is going and how it would reflect on your office and the credibility of the Nigerian Police. First, we have been informed that he has been recommended for a psychiatrist test, and the plan is for him to travel outside Bayelsa for this test. Meanwhile, we have been informed that there are competent doctors who can conduct this test in Bayelsa. That the idea to get him to go conduct the test outside is a pretext to help him evade justice”. The CP did not respond to these messages. But the police public relations officer reassured AfAW that justice would be done.
In a related development, the Ministry of Women Affairs approved the application of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches, FIDA and Do Foundation to temporarily accommodate the children under their supervision pending the conclusion of the investigation. The emergency shelter has been rented, and caregivers have been contacted. Unfortunately, the police have refused to release the children to the Advocacy for Alleged Witches, Do Foundation, and Ministry for Women’s Affairs. The investigating police officer and his team are working with the relatives of the suspect to take the children away. The children still have bruises all over their bodies; one of them is walking with crutches. Their faces are swollen as a result of the beating. The children look traumatized. The Advocacy for Alleged Witches urges the governor of Bayelsa, Duoye Diri, to intervene and ensure justice and protection for these children. As the governor, Diri should uphold the responsibility to protect these children. The wife of the governor, Dr. (Mrs) Gloria Diri, can also help. She should utilize the office of the First Lady of the state to support these children from now on. The world is watching and following the way this case is being handled and will hold state authorities in Bayelsa to account.
Leo Igwe, director of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches, Columbia, Maryland, in the United States.
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Some of you might be shocked that even though fossil fuels are 86 percent of the cause of climate change, it took 28 years before the words ‘fossil fuels’ could even be mentioned in the COP document. It is as absurd as Alcoholics Anonymous holding 28 years of conferences before they get the backbone to mention alcohol in an outcome document. —Kumi Naidoo, President of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
Kumi Naidoo with Brazilian First Lady Janja Lula da Silva and Brazilian Cultural Minister Margareth Menezes and others at a panel called “Narratives and Storytelling to Face the Climate Crisis” during the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30). Credit: Aline Massuda/COP30
BELÉM, Brazil, Nov 18 2025 (IPS) – Decades ago, a little girl was born in a place called Cleveland, Ohio, in the heart of the United States of America. Born to a woman from the deep South, the place of Martin Luther King, her mother left her ancestral lands for the economic opportunities in the north.
“Off she went, making it all the way to the east side of Cleveland,” says Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith. “To the place where most people who look like me lived, and still live, and are subjected to policies of injustice, race and gender.”
Here, she found a more pressing issue.
“I couldn’t breathe, my mother couldn’t breathe, and we all couldn’t breathe,” she narrates.
This urbanization, driven by fossil fuels, occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, where her mother relocated and where her relatives still live today. During the Great Migration, over six million people of African descent traveled from the South, believing that economic opportunities would be better in the North.
Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith, regional president of the World Council of Churches, speaks at an event titled ‘Faith for Fossil Free Future.’ Credit: IPS
“Upon our arrival, we discovered that we just couldn’t breathe.”
As one of eight regional presidents representing the World Council of Churches, Walker-Smith says for the World Council of Churches in over 105 countries, over 350 million adherents, and over 350 national churches all over the world, supporting the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty “is all about the issue of injustice, life and life more abundantly.”
“We are saying yes to the transition from fossil fuels to renewable life-giving energy.”
Kumi Naidoo, a prominent South African human rights and environmental justice activist and the President of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, says if the goal is renewable life-giving energy, the world has been going the wrong way for the past 30 years.
“If you come home from work and see water coming from the bathroom, you pick up the mop. But then you realized you left the tap running and the sink stopper on. What will you do first? Of course! You’ll turn off the water and pull the stopper. You will not start mopping the floor first.”
“For 30 years since the time science told us we need to change our energy system and many of our other systems, what we’ve been doing is mopping up the floor. If fossil fuels—oil, coal, and gas—account for 86 percent of what drives climate change, then we must turn off the tap.”
Masahiro Yokoyama was speaking at an event titled Faith for a Fossil-Free Future co-sponsored by Soka Gakkai International. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
Naidoo was speaking at an event titled ‘Faith for Fossil Free Future’ co-sponsored by several organizations, including Soka Gakkai International (SGI), Laudato Si’ Movement, GreenFaith—a global interfaith environmental coalition and EcoJudaism, a Jewish charity leading the UK Jewish Community’s response to the climate and nature crisis.
He spoke about the contradiction of the climate talks at the doorsteps of the Amazon, while licensing for drilling is still ongoing in the Amazon even as the people in the Amazon protest, calling for a fossil-free Amazon.
Continuing with the thread of contradictions, Naidoo said, “Some of you might be shocked that even though fossil fuels are 86 percent of the cause of climate change, it took 28 years before the words ‘fossil fuels’ could even be mentioned in the COP document. It is as absurd as Alcoholics Anonymous holding 28 years of conferences before they get the backbone to mention alcohol in an outcome document.
If we continue on this path, we’ll warm up the planet to the point where we destroy our soil and water, and it becomes so hot we can’t plant food. The end result is that we’ll be gone. The planet will still be here. And the good news is, once we become extinct as a species, the forests will grow back, and the oceans will recover.
“And actually, staying with that analogy, can you imagine how absurd it is that the largest delegation to this COP this year, last year, and every year is not even the host country?
“It’s not even Brazil—for every 25 delegates that are attending the COP, one of them is from the fossil fuel industry. That’s the equivalent of Alcoholics Anonymous having the largest delegation to its conference annually from the alcohol industry.”
People, groups and movements of different faiths and consciousness are increasingly raising their voices in robust support of a rapid fossil fuel phase-out, a massive and equitable upsurge in renewable energy, and the resources to make it happen—in the form of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Naidoo says the treaty is “a critical success ingredient for us not (only) to save the planet, but to secure our children and their children’s future, reminding ourselves that the planet does not need any saving.
“If we continue on this path, we warm up the planet to the point where we destroy our soil and water, and it becomes so hot we can’t plant food. The end result is that we’ll be gone. The planet will still be here. And the good news is, once we become extinct as a species, the forests will grow back, and the oceans will recover.”
This treaty is a proposed global agreement to halt the expansion of new fossil fuel exploration and production and to phase out existing sources like coal, oil, and gas in a just and equitable manner.
The initiative seeks to provide a legal framework to complement the Paris Agreement by directly addressing the supply side of fossil fuels.
Its ultimate goal is to support a global transition to renewable energy and is supported by a growing coalition of countries, cities, organizations, scientists, and activists. More importantly, it has multi-faith support.
Masahiro Yokoyama of the SGI, which is a diverse global community of individuals in 192 countries and territories who practice Nichiren Buddhism, spoke about the intersection between faith and energy transition and why the fossil fuel phase-out cannot wait.
“The just transition is also about how young people in faith can be the driving force to transformations.”
“So, a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, in my view, is not only about phasing out other fossil fuels but it also represents an ethical framework.”
“It’s a way to move forward while protecting people’s livelihoods and dignity within the context of the environment and also the local business and economies. So, a just transition is not merely a technical issue but a question of ethics, inclusion and solidarity,” Masahiro Yokoyama said.
The most pressing issue at hand is how to implement the treaty in the current environmental context.
“The pathway that we are following is a pathway that has been followed before. We are not going to negotiate this treaty within the COP or within the United Nations system. We’re going to do what the Landmine Treaty did.
“The landmine treaty was negotiated by 44 countries outside of the UN system and then brought to the UN General Assembly for ratification. The second question that people ask, justifiably, is, what about the powerful exporting countries, for example?” Naidoo asked.
“They’re not going to sign it. And to that we find answers in the landmine treaty. Up to today, the United States, Russia and China have not signed the Landmine treaty. But once the treaty was signed, the social license to continue as business as usual was taken away. And you saw a drastic change.”
Note: This article is brought to you by IPS Noram in collaboration with INPS Japan and Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.
Some of you might be shocked that even though fossil fuels are 86 percent of the cause of climate change, it took 28 years before the words ‘fossil fuels’ could even be mentioned in the COP document. It is as absurd as Alcoholics Anonymous holding 28 years of conferences before they get the backbone to mention alcohol in an outcome document. —Kumi Naidoo, President of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
Kumi Naidoo with Brazilian First Lady Janja Lula da Silva and Brazilian Cultural Minister Margareth Menezes and others at a panel called “Narratives and Storytelling to Face the Climate Crisis” during the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30). Credit: Aline Massuda/COP30
BELÉM, Brazil, Nov 18 2025 (IPS) – Decades ago, a little girl was born in a place called Cleveland, Ohio, in the heart of the United States of America. Born to a woman from the deep South, the place of Martin Luther King, her mother left her ancestral lands for the economic opportunities in the north.
“Off she went, making it all the way to the east side of Cleveland,” says Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith. “To the place where most people who look like me lived, and still live, and are subjected to policies of injustice, race and gender.”
Here, she found a more pressing issue.
“I couldn’t breathe, my mother couldn’t breathe, and we all couldn’t breathe,” she narrates.
This urbanization, driven by fossil fuels, occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, where her mother relocated and where her relatives still live today. During the Great Migration, over six million people of African descent traveled from the South, believing that economic opportunities would be better in the North.
Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith, regional president of the World Council of Churches, speaks at an event titled ‘Faith for Fossil Free Future.’ Credit: IPS
“Upon our arrival, we discovered that we just couldn’t breathe.”
As one of eight regional presidents representing the World Council of Churches, Walker-Smith says for the World Council of Churches in over 105 countries, over 350 million adherents, and over 350 national churches all over the world, supporting the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty “is all about the issue of injustice, life and life more abundantly.”
“We are saying yes to the transition from fossil fuels to renewable life-giving energy.”
Kumi Naidoo, a prominent South African human rights and environmental justice activist and the President of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, says if the goal is renewable life-giving energy, the world has been going the wrong way for the past 30 years.
“If you come home from work and see water coming from the bathroom, you pick up the mop. But then you realized you left the tap running and the sink stopper on. What will you do first? Of course! You’ll turn off the water and pull the stopper. You will not start mopping the floor first.”
“For 30 years since the time science told us we need to change our energy system and many of our other systems, what we’ve been doing is mopping up the floor. If fossil fuels—oil, coal, and gas—account for 86 percent of what drives climate change, then we must turn off the tap.”
Masahiro Yokoyama was speaking at an event titled Faith for a Fossil-Free Future co-sponsored by Soka Gakkai International. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
Naidoo was speaking at an event titled ‘Faith for Fossil Free Future’ co-sponsored by several organizations, including Soka Gakkai International (SGI), Laudato Si’ Movement, GreenFaith—a global interfaith environmental coalition and EcoJudaism, a Jewish charity leading the UK Jewish Community’s response to the climate and nature crisis.
He spoke about the contradiction of the climate talks at the doorsteps of the Amazon, while licensing for drilling is still ongoing in the Amazon even as the people in the Amazon protest, calling for a fossil-free Amazon.
Continuing with the thread of contradictions, Naidoo said, “Some of you might be shocked that even though fossil fuels are 86 percent of the cause of climate change, it took 28 years before the words ‘fossil fuels’ could even be mentioned in the COP document. It is as absurd as Alcoholics Anonymous holding 28 years of conferences before they get the backbone to mention alcohol in an outcome document.
If we continue on this path, we’ll warm up the planet to the point where we destroy our soil and water, and it becomes so hot we can’t plant food. The end result is that we’ll be gone. The planet will still be here. And the good news is, once we become extinct as a species, the forests will grow back, and the oceans will recover.
“And actually, staying with that analogy, can you imagine how absurd it is that the largest delegation to this COP this year, last year, and every year is not even the host country?
“It’s not even Brazil—for every 25 delegates that are attending the COP, one of them is from the fossil fuel industry. That’s the equivalent of Alcoholics Anonymous having the largest delegation to its conference annually from the alcohol industry.”
People, groups and movements of different faiths and consciousness are increasingly raising their voices in robust support of a rapid fossil fuel phase-out, a massive and equitable upsurge in renewable energy, and the resources to make it happen—in the form of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Naidoo says the treaty is “a critical success ingredient for us not (only) to save the planet, but to secure our children and their children’s future, reminding ourselves that the planet does not need any saving.
“If we continue on this path, we warm up the planet to the point where we destroy our soil and water, and it becomes so hot we can’t plant food. The end result is that we’ll be gone. The planet will still be here. And the good news is, once we become extinct as a species, the forests will grow back, and the oceans will recover.”
This treaty is a proposed global agreement to halt the expansion of new fossil fuel exploration and production and to phase out existing sources like coal, oil, and gas in a just and equitable manner.
The initiative seeks to provide a legal framework to complement the Paris Agreement by directly addressing the supply side of fossil fuels.
Its ultimate goal is to support a global transition to renewable energy and is supported by a growing coalition of countries, cities, organizations, scientists, and activists. More importantly, it has multi-faith support.
Masahiro Yokoyama of the SGI, which is a diverse global community of individuals in 192 countries and territories who practice Nichiren Buddhism, spoke about the intersection between faith and energy transition and why the fossil fuel phase-out cannot wait.
“The just transition is also about how young people in faith can be the driving force to transformations.”
“So, a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, in my view, is not only about phasing out other fossil fuels but it also represents an ethical framework.”
“It’s a way to move forward while protecting people’s livelihoods and dignity within the context of the environment and also the local business and economies. So, a just transition is not merely a technical issue but a question of ethics, inclusion and solidarity,” Masahiro Yokoyama said.
The most pressing issue at hand is how to implement the treaty in the current environmental context.
“The pathway that we are following is a pathway that has been followed before. We are not going to negotiate this treaty within the COP or within the United Nations system. We’re going to do what the Landmine Treaty did.
“The landmine treaty was negotiated by 44 countries outside of the UN system and then brought to the UN General Assembly for ratification. The second question that people ask, justifiably, is, what about the powerful exporting countries, for example?” Naidoo asked.
“They’re not going to sign it. And to that we find answers in the landmine treaty. Up to today, the United States, Russia and China have not signed the Landmine treaty. But once the treaty was signed, the social license to continue as business as usual was taken away. And you saw a drastic change.”
Note: This article is brought to you by IPS Noram in collaboration with INPS Japan and Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.
You may have heard the recent news about the BBC and Donald Trump. The BBC is a very large news company. They are in big trouble because they edited a speech by Trump to make it say something different. It was a dishonest thing to do.
Because of this, Trump is angry. He has asked for an apology and says he will take them to court. Some important people at the BBC have even lost their jobs over this.
For many of us, this is not a surprise. We saw the BBC do something very similar to a great man of God: Prophet T.B. Joshua.
The BBC made a film about Prophet T.B. Joshua and his church, SCOAN. The film was full of lies. It only showed one side of the story from people who were against him.
The church, now led by his wife Pastor Evelyn Joshua, showed strong proof that the film was wrong. We showed:
Official police reports that supported the church.
Video proof of the good work and miracles.
Stories from many people whose lives were changed for the better.
But the BBC did not listen. They did not say sorry. They did not take the film down. Shockingly, they even won an award for their lying film.
We believe that God sees when people tell lies about good people. We believe that you cannot mock God.
What is happening to the BBC now with Trump shows that God is fair. The same habit of lying that they used against the prophet is now causing problems for them in public. Their mistake is being shown to the whole world.
This is a lesson for everyone: lies you tell will eventually find you out.
The bad spirit that helped them tell lies is still in their company. It will keep causing them trouble until they do the right thing.
They must remove the false film about Prophet T.B. Joshua, and publicly apologize to Pastor Evelyn Joshua and the entire SCOAN.
We are watching them. We are waiting to see what will happen. We know that God will always defend the truth.
What do you think about this situation? Share your thoughts below.
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Salvation for All Ministries International has extended a lifeline to over 4,000 people in Traditional Authority Chiwaura (T.A), Lilongwe District, through the donation of 6,000 bags of maize, as part of its ongoing mission to empower vulnerable communities across Malawi.
The food donation was made during a spirit-filled crusade held at Chiwaura CDSS, led by Apostle Clifford Kawinga, the founder of the ministry.
The outreach comes barely a month after the ministry distributed irrigation farming equipment to farmers in Malawi’s Southern Region, reaffirming its commitment to combining spiritual nourishment with practical humanitarian support.
Speaking during the event in Malembo, Apostle Kawinga emphasized that addressing hunger is essential to effective ministry.
“This is one area that has been affected by hunger due to the dry spells. We thought it wise to come here and spread the good news while donating food because we can’t preach to people who are hungry,” Kawinga said.
He further called on other stakeholders and faith-based organizations to complement government efforts in assisting those affected by the ongoing food crisis. It is not the responsibility of the government alone. We can all join hands to help families affected by hunger,” he added.
Kawinga also expressed concern that hunger has forced some families to cross into Mozambique and Zambia in search of food, describing the situation as alarming.
Representing TA Chiwaura and all Sub-T/As, Bleston Caleb commended the ministry for the timely support.
“Our area has been hit hard by hunger. We are grateful to Apostle Kawinga and his ministry for this generous gesture,” Caleb said.
One of the beneficiaries, Lucia Chipozi, shared her gratitude, revealing that her family had been going to bed on empty stomachs.
“This maize will surely bail us out. We had nothing to eat for days,” Chipozi said.
Beyond his ministry work, Apostle Kawinga is also a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist the proprietor of Creck Hardware and General Suppliers, CK Storage, Creck Sporting Club, and several other enterprises that contribute to community development and economic empowerment.
Through such initiatives, Salvation for All Ministries International continues to demonstrate that faith in action can bring hope and transformation to struggling communities across Malawi.
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HARARE-(MaraviPost)-Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries leader, Walter Magaya will remain police custody till November 13, 2025 after Harare Magistrates Court on Tuesday, threw away his over-detention application
This follows his arrest on Saturday on multiple allegations of rape and fraud.
Magaya in court
Prophet prophet was at court today, where he was applying for his release.
His application for over detention was thrown out by Harare Magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa.
For the five rape charges, he is facing, Magaya was referred to the High Court, while his wife, Tendai was granted US$500 bail for the 13 fraud cases they are jointly charged.
Magaya and Wife Tendai
While his security detail, Tapiwa Chikondo was also granted bail for the obstruction of justice charge when he reportedly assaulted police detectives.
Prophet Magaya court appearance has attracted widespread public and media attention.
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