Two women are already cooling their feet in police custody in the Federal Capital Territory for alleged child abuse offense.
The women were arrested by the special task force of the FCT
Secretariat for Social Development Secretariat for gross abuse of
children under their care.
The children who are entitled to enjoy parental protection from their
respective aunties were separately ill-treated by them for failure to
meet the work load they were assigned by them.
Eight-year-old Amarachi was bathed with hot water by her
angry aunt Ifeanyinwa Igbeanyi for her inability to wash her cloths
properly while 13 year old Blessing got burnt with hot pressing Iron by
her aunt Mrs. Vanessa Ayoola who she serve as a house help.
The arrest followed a tip off by neighbours who have been angered by
the continued maltreatment of the children and reported both incidences
to the secretariat to rescue the children.
Secretary of the Social Secretariat Department, Mrs. Blessing Onuh
directed the gender department to take custody of both children and
initiate reunion of the children to their biological parents.
She also directed that both Ifeanyinwa and Vanessa be prosecuted
according to the provisions of the Child right Act while admonishing
parents and guardians to ensure that their children and wards are
adequately catered for.
Mrs. Onuh said that children are gifts from God for the family and a
blessing to the union as such when God entrust any parent with children
who are defenceless it behoves on the parents to provide protection and
care to the defenceless children.
She condemned the attitude of women who pick up children from the
poor families under the guise of providing them a better living
condition but turn to subject them to the kind of torture meted out to
Amarachi