Chijioke Agwu, Abakaliki.
Operatives of the Ebonyi State police command yesterday arrested Mr. And Mrs. Philip Iboko for allegedly torturing an eight-year-old pupil, Osinachi Iboko, their house help.
The maltreatment of the little girl was seen in a trending video, where she was kept in the scorching sun with her two legs tied together by her madam, Mrs Iboko, with whom she had lived, for two years.
Mr and Mrs Iboko, who hail from the Izzi Local Goverment Area of Ebonyi State, unleashed their anger on the poor little girl for eating part of the N10.00 Sweet they bought for their two-year-old baby, who was crying, to pacify her. A reliable source said it took the intervention of passionate neighbours (Mr Chinedu and Mr Raymond) to untie and get the little girl of the hook.
The two neighbours, according to the source, “Untied and took the girl off the scorching sun, as she was already getting weak as a result of the beating she received from her aunty and the heat from the harsh sun”.
Efforts made to reach the Ebonyi State Police Command, to comment on the matter, proved futile. Calls put across to the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs Loveth Odah, were not answered. She was also yet to reply text messages send to her mobile line, as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, human rights groups, under the auspices of Human Rights Defenders Foundation (HURIDE); Child Protection Network; and Save The Next Child Foundation, among others, condemned the Ibokos’ action.
According to HURIDE’s chairman in the state, Sam Nweke and Save The Next Child’s coordinator, Steve Ugama, said the maltreatment of the little girl was both condemnable and unacceptable.
The duo, in separate interviews, said, “Yesterday (Sunday), on receiving the report, Human Rights Defenders Foundation (HURIDE) in collaboration with human rights groups stormed the crime scene at No. 7 Divine Grace Street, Mile 50, Abakaliki.