A member of staff of the Nigeria Immigration Service,
Kwara State Command, northcentral Nigeria, Mr. Yemi Afolayan, has been
arrested by the police for allegedly inflicting severe injuries on a
12-year old girl, Favour Emmanuel, with a hot pressing iron after tying
her up and beating her to the point of comma.
It was gathered
that the girl, a native of Anambra state, whose mother is in Lagos
State, was staying with the Immigration officer’s family in Ilorin.
“My
master, Mr. Afolayan, had asked me to prepare rice but as it was taking
too long for the food to be ready he first beat me mercilessly and
later tied me up and used an electric pressing iron to inflict all the
injuries on my body,” the victim narrated.
A source in the
neighbourhood along Basin Road in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, who
pleaded anonymity, disclosed that the manner in which the girl was
treated was dehumanising and inhuman, adding there was little they could
do since they were not a party to her being brought into the house,
hence they could not challenge the couple.
The matter was reported to the Ministry of Women Affairs after a neighbour noticed the maltreatment the girl receives.
The
Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development in the state,
Mrs. Comfort Afolayan, who reacted to the matter, condemened such act
and said the ministry made a report at the anti-child trafficking
department of “A” Division Police Station after which Afolayan was
arrested.
“The victim has been arrested, while the child is in
our custody at the Motherless Babies’ Home, Gaa Akanbi, Ilorin, where
she is being taken care of before we take her back to her family.
“As
a mother, not even as the Commissioner for Women affairs And Social
Welfare, the act is very horrible. As a mother, who has gone through the
process of child bearing, you cannot see that situation and keep quiet.
Such a treatment is not acceptable.
“The Ministry will not
relent in its efforts to protect the rights of children. We have been
embarking on rigorous enlightenment programmes on child abuse and child
labour, even after all these efforts, people are still involved in such
practices,” she said.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the
state, DSP Fabode Olufemi, confirmed the incident, saying a warrant of
arrest has been issued to effect the arrest of the suspect, assuring
that the police would do everything possible to bring the culprit to
justice.
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