My husband locked our four months old baby for 14 days without food

 Juliana Francis

A worried nursing mother, Ronke, has narrated how her husband, Bolarinwa, locked up their four months old baby for 24 days without food, hoping that he would die.

According to Ronke, her husband did this because the baby was born deformed. The baby was not only locked for 14 days, she alleged, but she was not allowed to bath in those days.

She further alleged that her husband’s plan was for the baby to die because he was born without arms, but the baby miraculously survived. The baby is her third child, while other children were born without deformities.

Ronke, who felt that the life of her baby was still being threatened by his biological father, has run to members of the Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network (ACVPN), seeking help.

Narrating her ordeal to the co-founder of the organisation, Ebenezer Omejalile, Ronke said: “I gave birth to a baby boy without hand.  My husband and my mother in-law refused to show him love. They tried to kill him by giving him a lot of poisonous things, but all proved abortive. The baby didn't die. And they went ahead and locked him in a room for good 14 days with the hope that he would die, but God proved himself in his life. Since I decided to take care of the baby, my husband had been misbehaving towards me. I stopped lactating after they took him away from me. Up till now, the baby has been taking formula without any financial support from his dad. They didn't do naming ceremony for him and they called him a monster.”

She further stated: “We’re legally married. He left home since last week after beating me up. He left without our two children because I refused to comply and agree to what they wanted to do to the baby. He’s a zoologist.  I used to work with a micro finance bank, and before I got the job, my husband signed as a guarantor for me. But before of this issue, he went there to tell them that he was no longer standing as a guarantor for me. I don’t mind losing the job because I need to be around full time to take care of my baby. My bank job was tasking and time consuming.”

Omejalile said: “ The woman is courageous. What she needs right now is for her husband to support her in caring for the baby. He needs to take responsibility for the baby.  She also needs to be empowered.”