Helen Ukpabio is the founder and head of African Evangelical franchise Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries based in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.
"[3] In 1992, Ukpabio founded Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries with the aim of spreading her often literal interpretations of the Bible to the people of West Africa.
[5][6][7][3] Exploiting superstitious beliefs, particularly those related to spiritual or demonic possession or witchcraft,[8] Helen Ukpabio's organisation has grown exponentially throughout Nigeria and West Africa since its foundation.
- Leo IgweIn 2007 an Observer newspaper article claimed Ukpabio and other evangelical pastors were encouraging an upsurge in the numbers of children being accused of witchcraft and being abused and stigmatised by parents and communities as a result.
[15] Both reports followed the activities of two charities, CRARN and Stepping Stones Nigeria, now known as Safe Child Africa, which aimed to look after the children who have been rejected by their parents for displaying what they believed to be signs of witchcraft,[16] assertions which have also been made by the Associated Press.
[19] In 2014, Ukpabio brought a libel case against the British Humanist Association (BHA) and Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network (WHRIN) seeking damages of £500,000,000.