A 25-year-old woman was arrested in Anambra State for physically abusing her domestic worker of nine years in the state.
The suspect, Chinyere Ifesinachi, was said to have used a mortar and other materials to inflict injuries on the girl.
Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, a press assistant to the state Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, revealed this in a statement on Saturday.
Ms. Ikeanyionwu said the suspect was arrested by the commissioner on Friday and handed over to police in the state.
Ms Ifesinachi, the suspect, is indigenous to Alor in the Idemili South Council area of Anambra State, but is married to a man from Enugu, another state in south-eastern Nigeria.
The victim is his relative.
The statement said the case was immediately transferred to the police’s State Criminal Investigation Department for investigation and prosecution.
Ms Obinabo warned that anyone caught abusing a child in Anambra State must face the consequences, Ms Ikeanyionwu said.
The commissioner also praised all those who raised the alarm and brought the incident to her attention, as well as commending the state police for their continued partnership with her ministry to ensure that such a situation was handled “professionally and in a timely manner.” record”.
“I am not doing this because of my appointment (as commissioner), but for God and humanity,” Ms. Obinabo told Newslodge on Saturday afternoon.
She said some Nigerians in the diaspora had paid the first hospital bill for the boy who was still undergoing medical examinations and treatment to determine the extent of the damage inflicted by the suspect.
How the incident happened
The commissioner intervened after the matter became public earlier in the week, Newslodge has learned.
It was learned that the girl staggered outside carrying garbage containers that the suspect had ordered her to throw away when some residents observed that the girl’s face was swollen and there were several injuries on her body.
TO Facebook user posted a video clip of the teenager being questioned by some neighbors, who were visibly outraged by the incident.
In it shortenseen by Newslodge, the victim, who was speaking incoherently due to pain from her injuries, said the suspect hit her with a mallet and a cane because she dropped the suspect’s child to the ground.
Both of the girl’s eyes were covered due to her swollen face. She was struggling to open her eyes.
The Facebook user said the incident occurred at Enakwasumpu in Nkpor Agu, a community in the Idemili North local government of Anambra state.
The commissioner later confirmed to Newslodge that the suspect was arrested at her apartment in the community after his ministry was notified of the incident.
‘It’s the work of the devil’
Ms. Ikeanyionwu said the suspect confessed to hitting the girl with a mortar and pestle because the victim “threw” her son to the ground, but asked the commissioner for forgiveness.
The suspect, through tears, claimed that her actions were orchestrated by the devil.
The victim’s parents speak
The victim’s parents, according to the statement, told the commissioner that out of pity they sent the girl to live with the suspect because she (the suspect) recently gave birth to twins and it was difficult for her to care for the twins alone.
The parents said their daughter left home in March to stay with the suspect, but described as “unfortunate” the abuse the victim received from the suspect just two months after they began living together.