Christopher Oji
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 24-year-old woman, who tortured a 10-yr-old boy, and locked him up in a dog cage at the Aguda area of Lagos State.
A video went viral in the social media showing how the woman tortured the small boy and thereafter, later locked him up in a cage with dogs.
Following the public outcry that greeted the video, a team of detectives from the gender unit of the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, swung into action and arrested the woman, identified as Onyinye Mbadike.
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bala Elkana, said the woman was arrested at her residence located at N0 7 Trimnell Street, Aguda, for assault and child abuse. “Her arrest followed a viral video on the social media showing how she was torturing a 10-year-old Chibuike Eziamaka. The video also showed the suspect locking the boy up together with dogs in a dog cage. The video was widely condemned by well meaning Nigerians.
“The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, ordered the gender unit of the Command to identify the woman in the video, rescue the child, and make her to face the full weight of the law. Domestic and Sexual Response Team (DSVRT), Alausa Ikeja, also added its voice to the call for investigation with a petition addressed to the CP to that effect.
“The Gender Unit traced the suspect to Chumpe Liquor Store, Surulere, and her residence at Aguda. The 10-year-old boy was rescued and taken to a secured shelter. The suspect admitted /that she was the one on the viral video flogging the child with belt, but denied locking the boy in a cage with dogs. She said she only locked him up in an empty dog cage, where bags are kept. She claimed she only locked him up for few hours, before she brought him out. She alleged that the boy of stealing hot drink from the refrigerator and misconduct. She alleged that the boy smashed the side mirror of her Toyota Camry car with stone, and that was why she locked him up in the dog cage. “Investigation revealed that the boy lost his parents and was brought to Lagos in 2012 from Anambra State by the suspect’s mother along with his two siblings.
The suspect and the small boy are cousins. The suspect’s mother is the elder sister of the boy’s father. The suspect will be charged to court.”
The Command reiterated its commitment towards protecting the rights of children and other vulnerable members of the society from all forms of violence and abuses.