A resident of Ibafo, Ogun State, Mrs. Favour Elemi Aibafo, was reported to have harmed her domestic help by allegedly burrning her with hot knife.
She reortedly meted the same punishment to her two biological chidren also.
According to the Human Rights Defenders and Access to Justice Advocacy Centre, Ikeja, Lagos State, who shared the story on their Facebook wall, one Mr. Buchi, a co-tenant to the suspect, reported the incident to them on July 18.
Buchi was quoted to have said that he noticed that the 10-year-old girl named Destiny, could not sit or walk properly and that, upon inquiry, she told him that her madam had beaten her up and burned her buttocks with a hot knife.
The NGO added that Buchi was shocked and horrified when he saw the injury, hence his decision to report to the NGO which has since reported the matter to the Ogun State Police.
According to the NGO, Destiny said, “On that day, my aunty went out, and while she was still away, I and her children decided to eat a portion of the beans she prepared. Meanwhile, she didn’t ask us to eat it. So, when she came back, she was very furious.
“She beat me up while saying that I was teaching her children how to steal. After that, she put a knife on fire, and when it was very hot, she used it to burn my buttocks. I have been in pain since that day. I can’t sit, but can lie down.”
Buchi was also alleged to have said that the suspect also meted the same punishment to two of her own daughters ages 11 and four respectively. However, Buchi claimed that the knife was no longer very hot and that the two other children’s wounds weren’t as deep as Destiny’s.
According to the NGO, during interrogation, Favour admitted to the crime but was unremorseful about it.
“I did that because I’m trying to train my children in a godly way. Since 2021 when Destiny came to live with me, she has been influencing my kids negatively. She steals food and takes things without my permission. So, I burned her buttocks severely to teach her a lesson,” the NGO alleged Favour as saying.
While narrating their experience, Favour’s biological children mentioned that this incident was actually the second time she had abused them in such a manner.
They also said that their father wasn’t aware of the ill treatment meted out to them by their mother because, due to the nature of his job, he travels from one state to another and barely stays at home.
The house help, Destiny, also mentioned that she wants to go back to the village.
Her mother had reportedly sent her to live with Favour after her father passed away, and she was just seven years old when she came to Ibafo, Ogun State, from Cross River State.
Meanwhile, the case has been transferred to the Ogun State Police Division.
