Billy Graham Abel, Yola
An eight year old girl now lies critically ill in-between life and death at hospital in the Adamawa State capital, Yola, after her father viciously cut her throat with a kitchen knife saying he just felt like doing so.
The father, Saidu Dan Iya, who is believed to be psychologically disturbed as a result of a prolonged drug abuse said when asked by neighbours why he attempted to murder his daughter, that “he just felt like doing it.”
The story broke out on Wednesday afternoon when one of the neighbours took to the social media saying that they rushed a girl to the hospital and they were having difficulty in getting a doctor to attend to her..
Our correspondent gathered that the father acquired some wealth from cattle trading and even went for the Muslim pilgrimage last year, but he started taking drugs at some point, as a result of which his mental balance and business fortunes implode.
“His wife became really worried when the man began to threaten that he would slaughter members of the family one by one,” one of the neighbours complained.
Maryam Umar, said that the man’s wife, Fadimatu, responded by taking all the kitchen knives away.
She could not say from where her husband, Saidu Dan Iya, got the knife with which he used to slice the throat of his daughter who now lies between life and death.
The doctor who attended to Zarau Saidu, Elkannah Patrick, said the girl has a 50-50 chance of survival.
The ENT doctor told newsmen that he had cleaned up the wound and would now source the right tool for a more comprehensive surgery and reiterated that the girl had half a chance to live.
“We cannot determine yet if there is infection, we hope there is none because infection will seriously imperil her chances of survival,” he said.
The Head of Clinical Services of the FMC, Yola, Yerima Suleiman Yusuf, said the hospital would treat Zarau free of charge.
He said: “We have a Paupers’ Fund from which we will treat this patient because we realize that the mother is not ready and the father is a psychiatric case.”
The man is currently in custody of the Adamawa police command.