Ima Elijah, daughter of actress, movie producer and now cleric Helen Ukpabio, has given an up and coming singer Bloody Civilian an ultimatum to withdraw an allegation against her mum or face legal action.
Ukpabio, founder and pastor of the Liberty Gospel Church, featured in witch-themed Nollywood movies produced in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Through her church, she teaches on the “operations of witches”.
Many have accused Ukpabio of contributing to the rise in the attacks, torture and killings of people, especially children and women, accused of being witches and wizards, mainly in Cross River State where her church is headquartered and the neighbouring Akwa Ibom where she hails from.
Commenting on a post celebrating Ukpabio on her 60th birthday on November 22, Bloody Civilian wrote: “She literally made people burn their children alive.”
Ukpabio’s daughter reacted, “I give you the next five hours to take this down or I will educate you in court!”
Bloody Civilian replied, “Use your connections to remove her uk ban. She needs you. Pls,” implying Ukpabio has been banned from the United Kingdom.
Ima said she was traumatised by the constant attack on her mother over her movies.
“I grew up with so much pain around this scandal,” Ima said on X on Friday.
“Question now is, how did Helen make you kill your kids? Why isn’t she arrested or ever investigated locally?”
She claimed that her mother was vilified because she “refused to join an international cult”.
Ideba Edu Ele, a social worker and founder of a non-profit organisation, Bonnicare Foundation, in Cross River State, took on Ima on her claim that Ukpabio did nothing wrong to deserve the attacks.
Edu told Ima on X, “I know and saw with my own eyes. I want to fight you, but I can’t. The nerve for me. Shut your mouth up.”
She posted a video on X where Ukpabio is seen teaching a congregation about the “different types of witchcraft”.
“You have the dormant black witchcraft, you have the silence black witchcraft, then you have what they call community witchcraft, then you have what they call green witchcraft, then you have societal witchcraft. So witchcraft are of types,” the cleric said in the video.
Edu narrated on X how a 15-year-old orphan girl from Cross River, accused of being a witch, was prevented from going to school by her relatives.
“I begged, pleaded, and reported all to no avail. Her relatives insisted that Gift must make their grandchild (baby) to walk before they will let her step her foot in a school even after finishing primary 6 three years ago,” Edu wrote.
