A 13-year-old boy identified as Daniel has been rescued from his madam after he was physically abused in just one month of living with her, IgbereTV reports.
Daniel who hails from Jos, said his mother is dead and his father is in the village, so he was brought from the North to Lagos and handed over to a woman named Onyebuchi in Surulere, Lagos, so that he can work for her and get sent to school in return. However, he wasn’t enrolled in school.
Concerned neighbours got involved when they saw the boy eating from a maggot infested dustbin in the compound. They noticed the boy has cuts and bruises all over his body and his fingers were also bent and bruised.
The neighbours made a video, asking the boy what happened to him and he said his “Aunty” was responsible for hitting him.
Reports about the abuse were shared online and human rights activist went to the given address in Surulere. There, they met the boy and his madam.
The boy was so battered that he showed signs of extreme pain when asked to sit, because of bruises on his bum.
The madam insisted she wasn’t responsible when confronted by human rights activist, Dr Yolanda George-David. She added that she feeds the boy and doesn’t maltreat him.
However, the activists told her that they have videos of the boy carrying heavy things on his head and eating from the dustbin.
When asked why she hasn’t enrolled the boy in school, the woman explained that he has been with her for only one month and she was making efforts to do so. Also, most schools closed for the term a week ago so it wouldn’t have been possible to get him enrolled at the end of the school term.
It was also alleged that the madam got her children to abuse Daniel. She reportedly asked one of her children to hit Daniel’s head on the wall and the child did.
A police officer who followed the activists to the scene took the madam to the police station in a bus. The madam’s child who hit Daniel’s head on the wall was also taken to the station to write a statement.
Despite the madam’s denials, the activists promised to ensure she faces the law.
See video below.
