Two men physically attacked the family of a prominent humanist and human rights defender in Mbaise, Nigeria on August 4 in retribution for his work.

 

“They shot twice in the air and my mother fainted,” Leo Igwe, founder of the Nigerian Humanist Movement, said. “They later descended on my aging father and started beating him. They blindfolded him with a piece of cloth and hit him several times with stones.

 

“[My father passed out] and the hoodlums ransacked the whole house and made away with whatever they found valuable. My father bled from the right eye, nose and mouth. He had bruises on his head, hands, legs and chest,” Igwe said.

 

Igwe said he took his father to a specialty hospital but the eye could not be saved.

 

Igwe said police did not immediately respond when he reported the attack, and told him that he must send a written request if he wished for an investigation. Igwe said he believes the attack is a result of his advocacy for a child rape survivor. He said the child’s alleged attacker has influence with local courts, soldiers, and police.

 

Igwe is well known in Nigeria and the international human rights community for promoting the rights of women, children, and LGBTs, and the separation of church and state. He said private parties and the government have harassed and attacked him and his family because of his work. He said he was arrested in January on false charges and his brothers were detained and beaten by police in 2008.

 

Igwe needs money for security measures to prevent further attacks and to pay his father’s medical bills. You can send tax-deductible contributions (please mention Leo Igwe’s name) to the Institute for Science and Human Values (ISHV), which has donated $1,000. 5201 West Kennedy Blvd. Tampa, FL 33609.