The mother of a nine-year-old girl, Favour Azubuike, who was burnt allegedly with a hot iron in Biacasa, Abuja, in April, has filed a complaint about the mishandling of the case and release of the suspect by the police.
The woman stated that her pastor’s wife, Mrs Oluchi Okoro made her meet with a woman named Nancy, who was looking for a child to live with, unknown of the fact that she was a child molester.
She said that her daughter was with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). The agency took her in custody when her guardian injured her.
When Nancy arrived at Imo State, she said she was looking for a little girl to stay with her. The woman gave her daughter her whole heart and left with her daughter and started mistreating her, to the extent that she even utilised a hot iron to burn her buttock. After NAPTIP discovered the incident, they took the child away from her.
Favour’s father, Nwoka Azubuike, stated that they found out their daughter was not the only child abused by the woman.
Later, it was also found that she put pepper in the anus of the girl that was with her before Favour. Nancy had severely hit Favour with a knife and left her with scars.
Her mother said, “We want justice for this to be her last in maltreating children.”
Mrs Okoro confirmed that she introduced the lady to the Azubuike family.
She stated, “I’ve known Nancy for nine years. She was single when we became friends. She is not a bad person, and I never knew her to be a bad person.”
“I wanted to give her my child initially, but my husband never liked the idea of his child going out to stay with someone. That is why I introduced her to Favour’s mother, who is also my neighbour. I know her too well; she is not violent, and I was surprised about what happened.”
Contacted, the Federal Capital Territory Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Josephine Adeh, said she was unaware of the incident but swore to investigate the incident.
