Juliana Francis
Members of the Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons and Network (ACVPN) have expressed anger after hearing that one Mrs Anthonia, who allegedly broke her 13-year-old house help’s arm and hitting her head against a wall at the Ikorodu area of Lagos State had been released.
Information filtering out was that police at Igbogbo Police Station had released Anthonia for reasons yet unknown.
The girl’s precarious situation was discovered after some private security guards noticed that she had a swollen head and broken arm and asked her some questions. After listening to the girl’s narration, the guards realised that the survivor, who introduced herself as Cynthia, was a victim of abuse.
Cynthia, who is in junior secondary school, (JSS 1), said: "She hit my head on the wall the day before yesterday, and it became swollen. I also have a broken arm and when I was going to school to pick her child, security guards saw and asked what happened to me. They then called the police.”
An advocate, Adeyemi Akala, who had been following the case of Cynthia, explained: “The little girl was brought to Lagos by her madam to work as a maid, and be sent to school. She has been physically abused on different occasions by her madam and has scars all over her body. The madam broke her left hand in December 2020, which the woman concealed from her husband since then, until she beat and banged her head on the wall recently. This led to her arrest as a security guard reported her to the police.”
Akala further said that he was shocked to hear that the madam had been released on bail since last week, while the little girl was kept at the station.
The advocate explained that the police kept the girl at the station because they were waiting for her people to come from Kaduna State to take her.
She said: “My question is, shouldn’t the perpetrator face the wrath of the law, as the poor girl’s hand is damaged permanently and left with scars all over her body like an armed robbery. We really need to do a lot of check on some cases of child abuse, at every police station.”
Akala presented an x-ray, which showed Cynthia’s arm. “I have briefed the officer in charge of Gender State Criminal Intelligence and Investigating Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba about this matter and I trust her to step in as usual. The girl’s hand is still left broken till today and it has been since December 2020. This is a sad story; we must look into it and ensure justice is served appropriately,” said the advocate.
Another advocate, Toyin Okanlawon, alleged that the Gender Unit of Igbogbo Police Division, where the case was reported, was known for handling such matters with levity.
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