The Anambra State Coordinator of Child Protection Network, Mrs Eucharia Anekwe, has said that the Governor’s wife, Nonye Soludo, and the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Ify Obinabo, actually held the bull by the horn in the case of an eleven-year-old girl brutalized by her guardian in Onitsha.
The victim, Happiness Nwafor, was said to have had her private and other parts of the body severely injured with sharp and hot objects by her guardian, Mrs Adachukwu Okafor; said to be a lawyer and pastor in a local church, for allegedly touching her son’s private part.
The perpetrator was later declared wanted and millions of naira as bounty placed on her before she reportedly surrendered to the police, leading to the commencement of her trial at the Children Sexual and Gender-based Violence Court.
Speaking on the matter, Mrs Anekwe said that by rescuing and offering medical attention to the abused child, Mrs Soludo and Obinabo helped in saving her life, adding that the wanted declaration made by the Anambra State Government, and the two-million-naira bounty placed on the perpetrator by the Federal Government are highlights of the event to prove to the public that government is really against any form of violence on children and adults.
Apart from securing justice for the abused child, Mrs Anekwe recommended complete cycle of counseling and psycho-social support for the victim, even as she suggested that government looks into the empowerment of the child’s mother, so that she can take care of the victim, as part of case management, explaining that the reason for empowering the victim’s mother is because the child may have been sent out as a house help because of poverty.
Contributing, a member of Child Protection Network, Anambra State, Ugochi Freeman, said that at the moment, the concerned stakeholders are doing what is expected of them by ensuring medical treatment of the abused child, as well as ensuring that she gets justice.
She specifically tasked the Enugu State Government to complement Anambra State Government’s efforts by ensuring that the mother of the victim is empowered economically to take care of her upkeep and education, and further recommended a regulatory framework to ensure protection of both house helps and their guardians.
Mrs Adachukwu Okafor; presently in police custody, will appear in court again tomorrow, twenty-eight February, for ruling on her bail application and continuation of trial.
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