The Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Anambra State, Mrs. Ify Obinabo has rescued a seventeen-year-old girl from her father who allegedly wanted to use her for rituals .
The survivor who hails from Nise town in Awka South Local Government Area is said to be the step daughter of the suspect one Mr. Sunday Ezeh, a traditionalist and suspected ritualist.
Speaking when she brought the child to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, Amaku Awka, Mrs. Obinabo explained that she was alerted by some indigenes of Nise but due to the sensitivity of the case, she collaborated with the local vigilante in apprehending the suspect before handing him over to the police.
She warned that the Professor Chukwuma Soludo’s led administration has zero tolerance for any form of crime and anyone caught must be severely dealt with.
Mrs. Obinabo warned against any form of harmful traditional practices against girls, children and women, noting that the eyes of the law must catch whoever that indulges in wicked acts against humanity.
Sharing her experience, the seventeen-year-old survivor who was rescued and taken to the hospital for treatment said, she was bound hands and feet by the said father and locked up in a room for one month without food.
According to her, she couldn’t remember what her offense was but was told by her father that she messes up the compound with defecation and the beating and inhumane treatments were her punishment.
The rescued girl also noted that the step father had used a bamboo stick to hit her on the head but for the early intervention of people, she was saved and brought to the hospital.
On his part, the suspect, Mr. Ezeh, claimed that he merely punished his disobedient daughter for desecrating his compound which he said is against his traditional belief and practice and pleaded for pardon.
The case has been transferred to the Anambra State Police Criminal Investigation Department and will be charged to court.
Meanwhile, the survivor sustained a lot of injury and as a result was billed for emergency surgery in the head.
As at the time of this report, the surgery was successful and the rescued girl recuperating at the pediatric ward, Chukwuebuka Odumegwu Teaching Hospital, Amaku Awka.
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