An 11-year-old girl has been arrested for the death of a 5-year-old boy left in her care at a home in Okoloko street, Abule-Ado Shoba, Lagos state.
Ojiugo Ifechukwu Duru allegedly strangled Chikamso after the child’s mother left her with him and his younger brother while she went to her place of business which was close by.
Not long after the mother left home on Saturday, she was called to return home that there was an emergency, and when she returned, she found that her maid had killed her first child.
“It’s just that my house girl strangled my son, my first issue,” the grieving mother said.
The woman, who is heavily pregnant with her third child, said the maid has now been arrested by the police.
She said: “For now, it’s not in my hand. She’s in custody already. For now my husband is taking care of things. It’s now government case and not mine, so it’s not in my hands to decide what will happen and what will not happen.”
The father of the deceased resides in South Africa but reportedly returned as a result of his son’s death and is now following up with the Nigerian Police.
When sked the mother what the maid’s motive for killing her child was, she replied: “No just reason, just that she’s angry. That was just it.”
Recounting what happened on Saturday, March 10, 2018, a source said that Ojiugo beat Chikamso then tried to strangle him with a chain around his neck but he survived this. She then used a sharp curtain hook to stab the child on his joystick and this led to his death.
The source said the maid then turned on the second son, a toddler, and began to beat him too. The boy, who is about 2 or 3, reportedly ran out of the house at this point and went to a neighbour’s. They also said that on a normal day, the child couldn’t open the door on his own, but out of desperation, he did.
When he got to their neighbour’s house, he held on tight to her and could not be consoled. The maid reportedly made her way to the neighbour’s house and tried to drag the younger boy home but he held on fast to the neighbour and kept crying. At this point, the neighbour became suspicious considering the boy had never behaved that way before.
“She has killed Bobo,” the little boy kept repeating to the neighbour.
The woman carried the baby back to their house to investigate and when she got there, she saw Chikamso lying lifeless. She lifted his hands and legs but they fell. It was then she knew the child was dead and she began to beat the maid who showed no remorse and didn’t cry. The neighbour then called the mother of the children and the police to the scene.
The maid is reportedly still in police custody and her father has come from the village to Lagos after he heard what his daughter did.
