Police arrest two for alleged child battering

The Lagos State police command yesterday arrested two persons for beating the living daylights out of a 16-year-old house help.

The teenage housemaid was allegedly beaten by the duo of Alhaja Fatima Williams and his brother, Waliu Yusuf, for being lazy.

The suspects, Wiliams, 56, and her younger brother, Waliu, 29, who resides along Allen Avenue, Ikeja, alleged that they maltreated the teenage housemaid because she refused to embark on any house chores, which she was contracted to do.

Alhaja Wiliams, a businesswoman, was arrested by policemen from Ikeja Division following information received by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).

In her statement to the police, Wiliams alleged that she got the service of the housemaid through one John who is an agent from neighbouring Republic of Benin.

“The girl is too stubborn and always wee on the bed. Each time I try to correct her, she would start abusing me. On that fateful day, because I asked her to kneel down as punishment for refusing to carry out house chores, she rather went into the kitchen and attempted to consume a local insecticide we use to kill insects.

“My younger brother who was ironing his cloth then tried to wrestle the poison from her. It was in the process of trying to collect the insecticide from her that he flogged her severally with cane. She also got burnt by the hot iron during the struggle,” she added.

Invalidating her boss’s claims, the victim, Kemi Leona, 16, said she incured the wrath of her boss because she refused to drink Garri soaked in water.

“Uncle Waliu then started flogging me with a wire. Not satisfied, he went inside and plugged a pressing iron. When it became so hot, he started using it on me. I ran out of the house when I could not bear the pains anymore.

“My madam has not paid me anything since I started working for her from January this year. Anytime I ask her, she will say she has paid the sum of N10,000 to the man who gave me to her.”

Briefing newsmen at the Command Headquarters, Ikeja, the Lagos State Police command boss, Fatai Owoseni, said the matter would soon be charged to court.

He said the case was a clear case of man’s inhumanity to man, stressing how a 56-year-old mother would approve the beating of another woman’s kid, to the extent that they would use hot electric pressing iron on her.