The mother of four was also
accused of assaulting the victim since she started living with the (Juliet’s)
family in July 2017.
A pregnant housewife,
Juliet Ozoarinze, has been arrested for allegedly torturing a 10-year-old girl,
Blessing, in Ijesha, Surulere, Lagos State.
She was alleged to have
used different objects on her over allegations of being tardy in running
errands, not being prompt in answering summons and practising witchcraft.
The suspect’s husband,
Kenneth, was reported to have returned Blessing to her aunt, Vivian, on
Tuesday, October 17, after the wife allegedly used a knife to cut the
10-year-old in the hand for allegedly stealing and eating the food meant for
her children.
Vivian, who gave the couple
the child because Kenneth was a family friend, told our correspondent that
Kenneth said he was returning the child because of the injury.
She said, “Blessing’s
mother lives in Abuja and she has four children, including her. She had been
saddled with the care of all the four girls. We thought the couple could assist
with Blessing’s education in exchange for helping them with house chores.
“The man suddenly brought
the girl back to our house. The woman used a knife to cut her in the hand and
the man said he was not happy with the wife. After he left, I saw that she
could barely sit and I asked her to remove her clothes. I was alarmed at the
extent of her injuries and she told me that Juliet had been torturing her since
she started living with them.
“I called Kenneth and asked
if he knew about the girl’s injuries and he denied. He came back and was angry
to see all her sores. I asked him to pay for the girl’s treatment, but he
refused and said he didn’t have money.”
She said after she could
not raise money for Blessing’s treatment, her neighbours advised her to approach
a human rights organisation.
She explained that after
several attempts to convince Kenneth to foot Blessing’s medical bill failed,
she reported the case at the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender.
An official of the agency
told PUNCH Metro that when Blessing was brought to the office, she could not
sit due to the extent of her injuries.
She said, “The woman is a
housewife and mother of four children. She is currently pregnant with her fifth
child. The girl had been cruelly treated and poorly fed by Juliet. Instead of
sending her to school as her family promised, they enslaved her.
“When we checked her body,
we saw many physical injuries ranging from knife cuts to marks of flogging with
wire and other objects. She could barely walk or sit because she had severe
injuries on her buttocks and had also been hit on the head and waist with a
pestle.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that the
OPD reported the case to the police at the Itire division, and the suspect was
arrested.
When queried on what the
victim did, the suspect allegedly claimed that Blessing stole her children’s
provisions and food.
She reportedly denied
beating her with objects.
“The police asked Blessing
what made her mistress to beat her and she replied that on an occasion, she was
forced to accept that she was a witch. The Divisional Police Officer promised
to charge the woman to court at the end of investigations,” a social worker
said.
The Director of OPD, Mrs.
Olubukola Salami, confirmed the incident.
She said, “We are concerned
about the surge in the number of child abuse cases in Lagos State despite
legislative measures and several awareness and advocacy mechanisms put in place
by the government.
“While OPD will continue to get perpetrators
to face justice, we urge all residents of Lagos to be vigilant and report all
forms of child abuse in their community.”
The Police Public Relations
Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, said he would call back, but had yet to do
so as of press time.
Our correspondent, however,
gathered that the suspect had been arraigned in a magistrate’s court for the
offence.
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