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A young girl has been rescued from the hands of her parents after being locked up at tortured over allegations of being a witch.
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Daily Report Nigeria gathers that the girl, age 12 has allegedly been locked up for two years, and had been subjected to different forms of abuse from her father and stepmother for allegedly being a witch.
The operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC have swung into action, as they rescue a young girl from abuse.
Confirming the arrest, the spokesperson of the corps, SC Friday Ekerete said the 12-years-old girl was subjected to inhumane treatment for two years.
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He added that the father and stepmother, who have now been arrested for their crime of child abuse were said to have starved, tortured and locked up the young girl
“The arrest was made on Tuesday, 10th September 2024 at Ikot Ukporo Idoro Village in Ibiono Ibom LGA of Akwa Ibom State following a complaint received from the Ministry of Justice about the suspect subjecting his daughter to inhumane treatment,” the statement read.
“The suspect, Mr Ndifreke Sunday Etok, ‘M’ 38years, and his wife, who is a stepmother to the girl, Mrs. Victory Fortune Sunday ‘F’ 28 years admitted to locking up the child but added that he did it because she confessed to being a witch and responsible for his afflictions. He added that the girl disappears for weeks whenever she is set free.
“The victim, Miss Bright Fortune Sunday, narrated her ordeal stating that she was kept locked up in a dilapidated room, denied food, bathing and subjected to consistent beating from her stepmother.
“She said that she was fed once every two days, allowed to bathe a maximum of twice a month and denied education. She added that she confessed to being a witch so that the parents can cease beating her.”
While parading the suspects, the commandant of the corp, Eluwade Eluyemi, stated that the despicable act contravenes Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended which guarantees the right to dignity of every Nigerian.
“The attention of members of the public is hereby drawn to Section 10 of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law 2020 which states that: A person who denies another person of their freedom by locking them up, hiding or isolating them etc without the permission of the court has committed an offence and he/she will go to prison for 2 years or pay a fine of 500,000 naira or both.
“Same applies to a person who attempts, conspires or aids the act of deprivation of personal liberty,” he said
The girl has been handed over to Gender-Based Violence Shelter Home for care and rehabilitation, while the suspects will be handed over to the appropriate prosecuting agency for necessary action.
