Pregnant woman pours boiling water on househelp's breasts for waking up late
A pregnant woman faces
child abuse and human trafficking charges after she attacked her housemaid with
boiling water for waking up late.
According to PREMIUM
TIMES, mother of one Kemi Egbukole, 36, poured boiling water on
16-year-old Hope David leaving her breasts with severe injuries. Police said
Egbukole would be charged after investigations are concluded.
Mrs. Egbukole, a
resident of of Minta 1 Estate, Lokogoma, Abuja, is currently being
investigated for child abuse and trafficking offences by the Police, National
Human Rights Commission and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking
in Persons,( NAPTIP)
According to the Deputy
Director, Protection and Investigations, National Human Rights Commission,
Lambert Oparah, Mrs. Egbukole initially denied the assault charges but later
admitted the attack, claiming it was an accident, and the victim was
immediately taken to the hospital for treatment.
The Director however
revealed that Hope wasn't taken to the hospital as claimed by the suspect.
"She was taken to a
chemist, they put plasters around her breast which was not quite good," he
said
Neighbours who spoke to
PREMIUM TIMES described Mrs. Egbukole as a "notorious child abuser"
who repeatedly attacked Hope with dangerous objects including rods.
"She ran out of the
house and came to my side," one of the neighbour said. "Mrs. Egbukole
was still trying to flog her with a mop stick."
The neighbour said at
first she thought Hope was attacked with pepper or cold water as in the past.
"I thought it was
just water and pepper, or something, until the girl screamed back again in my
room and I shouted, ‘What!’ the breast has peeled already. So I shouted and
said ‘Come you did this thing to this girl and you still want to flog her
again? I will report you to the police and NAPTIP; at that point she started
begging and immediately she started telling lies," the neighbour
said.
Mrs. Egbukole claimed
Hope poured herself water, according to a neighbour.
But the woman had a
history of abusing the girl, the neighbour said, citing how Mrs. Egbukole a day
earlier had hit Hope with a curtain rail, injuring her in the head.
Mr Opara alleges that Hope
was trafficked to Abuja. According to him, Mrs Egbukole said the girl was
brought to her by a pastor who usually supplied girls from Nasarawa State to
Abuja residents seeking house helps.
"She said she does
not know the girl’s parents, Mr. Oparah added.
The commission
immediately made a reported to the Commissioner of Police, Abuja, who directed
further investigations into the case. Mrs. Egbukole will most likely be charged
for abuse of the Child Rights’ Act, 2003.
"The Child Rights’
Act clearly states the responsibility of parents or wards, as well as
government or other agencies involved; regarding the dignity of the child, as
well as the child’s right to adequate health and health services, which have
both been abused in this case," Oparah said.
Mrs Egbukole and her
husband had been at the FCT police command for interrogation and would be
required to return intermittently till the end of the investigation.
The Abuja police
spokesperson, Manzah Adjuguri, who confirmed the incident said Mrs. Egbukole
claims that the pastor who brought Hope from Nasarawa was her uncle. He assured
the matter will be charged after investigation.
"It is a matter of
concern to the command based on the rate of injuries that has been sustained by
the girl. And for us, here at the command, justice must take its full
course," he stated.
Adjuguri further said
the command was still in touch with Hope, who is currently recovering under the
custody of NAPTIP.
The spokesperson of
NAPTIP, Joshua Emerole, said Hope would remain under the agency’s care until
the end of the investigation and that Mrs Egbukole faces other charges
including the violation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, 2015.
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