An 18-year-old housewife Khadija (surname withheld) is in police custody at the Bauchi State Command for alleged culpable homicide.
Khadija, who is a mother-of-one and currently pregnant, is accused of beating her five-year-old step daughter Hafsat, to dead at their home in Kandahar area of Bauchi State.
Parading the suspect, Bauchi State Police Commissioner CP Auwal Musa Muhammad said on September 28, 2023, the police received information about an incidence of child beating in Kandahar.
“The police immediately deployed a team of detectives to the area. Upon arrival, they found out that Hafsat had sustained injuries.
“She was rushed to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, for medical attention where she was certified dead by a medical doctor,” Police said.
CP Muhammad added that preliminary investigation showed that the suspect had beaten the little girl for soiling her clothes.
“It is unfortunate that women who are seen to be patient and caring can carryout this act on an innocent child,” Muhammad said.
He advised women to guard against jealousy and accept their husband’s children as their own.
Speaking to our correspondent, Khadija said she used a phone charger cable to beat Hafsat for soiling her clothes with stool.
“It was a mistake; if I knew she would die, I wouldn’t have beaten her. I am very sorry for my action. Hafsat is my daughter, as I didn’t meet her mother in the house,” she lamented.
The suspect said her one-year old child was at home and that she is four months’ pregnant.
“My husband and Hafsat have forgiven me; so, I plead with the authorities to release me even for the sake on what I’m carrying in my stomach,” she said.
The police said the suspect will be charged to court after investigation might have been concluded.
