From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Men of the Abia Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), at the weekend, rescued a teenage girl chained by the neck and limbs and locked up by her parents. The occurred happened in Umuokoro, in Obinkita in Arochukwu local government area.
The parents of the girl whose name was simply given Ada are said to have carried out the dastardly act on the allegation that the girl was afflicted by mental illness, and that the action was to prevent her from straying away.
It was learned that the victim was chained and locked up in the house by her mother, identified as Blessing, when men of NSCDC in the state stormed their home, rescued her and arrested the mother.
NSCDC Abia Command said the rescue operation followed a tip-off by some concerned citizens, adding that the success of action was due to a 24-hour surveillance mounted at the victim’s home.
Nkechi Ikpeazu, the wife of the Abia State governor, who chairs the State Action Committee on Gender-based violence, has ordered an investigation into the incident.
Speaking through an aide, Chika Ojiegbe, at the state headquarters of the NSCDC following the arrest and rescue of the girl, she said there was no excuse for the inhuman treatment meted on the girl by her mother.
She said the woman should have sought medical help for her child if her claims that her daughter suffers from poor mental health were true, adding that it was an unfortunate abuse to chain her no matter the circumstance.
An NSCDC Abia spokesman, confirming the development, said the state Commandant, Vincent Ogu, has directed a full-scale investigation into the matter, while the victim has been handed over to the management of the Vicar Hope Foundation, a project of Mrs Ikpeazu, for rehabilitation and treatment.
