The wife of a reverend in the Oko-Oba area of Lagos State, Mrs Olusola Adeleke, has been arrested by the police for allegedly burning the skin of her home help with a hot iron.

The woman was arrested along with the reverend, Adebanjo, as the couple were alleged to have subjected the nine-year-old girl to series of physical abuse since she started living with them two years ago.

Sunday PUNCH learnt that the girl’s travails came to the limelight recently when one of the Adeleke’s two dogs bit her in the chest while she was feeding them.

It was said that the couple did not take her to hospital for treatment which prompted a mandated reporter to inform a child rights advocate, Mrs Toyin Taiwo-Ojo, about the case.

Taiwo-Ojo, a lawyer, told our correspondent that apart from the dog bites and mark of iron, there were scars of lashes all over the girl’s body.

She explained that she approached the reverend, who claimed his wife was playing with the victim when the hot iron burned her skin.

She said, “I asked him if the iron is a toy but he was speechless. The woman didn’t tell us what the girl did that warranted such inhumane treatment but the girl said she was punished for bedwetting.

“She said she is from Ajara (in Badagry). According to the girl, the couple lured her to their house two years ago through her mother’s friend. They told the mother that an elderly couple without a child needed somebody to keep their company and they promised to send her to school. That was why her mother released her to the couple

“We have been trying to reunite her with her family. She doesn’t know her surname; she only knows that her father was an Alhaji before he passed on. The suspects are pastors. They used horsewhips to beat the little girl who is about nine years old. There were scars all over her body from several previous beatings.”

Our correspondent learnt that the state’s Ministry of Youth and Social Development were involved in the matter and the suspects were arrested on Thursday and transferred to the gender unit of the state police command headquarters in Ikeja.

The lawyer said the victim while narrating her experience stated that the couple gave her tough chores to do, including tendering to Adeleke’s aged mother.

She said, “The malnourished child said she had been staying with the couple for the past two years without going to school. Her daily chores include changing the diaper and cleaning of a 90-year-old grandmother, who also resides in the place. She also feeds the two Alsatian dogs in the house and takes care of their kennel. A scar by her breast was a dog bite she sustained four days earlier but the reverend and his wife did not deem it fit to take her to a hospital for anti-rabies and anti-tetanus injections.”

The child rights activist stated further that the girl was taken to a hospital for treatment where a preliminary report revealed that she had been sexually abused.

“A medical test has been carried out on her and the result will be out on Monday. The girl has not revealed who did the dastardly act to her because of the trauma she had gone through. We are still waiting for the outcome of the police investigation to know the perpetrator,” she added.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the arrest of the couple.

He said, “Investigation on the case is ongoing and the suspects will be charged to court after the conclusion of the investigation.”

At least 100 bandits have been killed by the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji (OPHD) in Zamfara and parts of Katsina State between December 2019 and January 2020, the Acting Force Information Officer, Captain Ayobami Oni-Orisan, has said.

Oni-Orisan said in a statement to journalists in Gusau on Saturday that troops comprising personnel of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police, Department of State Services and others conducted several clearance operations to neutralise bandits who refused to repent.

“So far, OPHD troops have flushed out bandits hibernating around Tashar Kuturu, Dankalgo, Gobirawa junction, Bagega, Kawaye, Duhuwa, Sabon-Birni, Dankurmi, Dangulbi, Hayin Bawa, Zango, Unguwar Shanu, Tundu Mali, Magazu, Mayanchi and Gando forest, in Anka, Talata Mafara, Tsafe, Maru and Bukkuyum Local Government areas of Zamfara.

“Additionally, OPHD ground troops backed by the fighter jets of the Air Component also cleared Shinfida in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State, neutralising several bandits in the process,” he said.

The information officer said the renewed use of force against the bandits followed their refusal to embrace the peace process introduced by Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara about six months ago as well as the recent upsurge of the bandits in the affected areas.

He said during the operations, 10 kidnap victims were rescued, while 500 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition 23 Motorbikes, 15 AK 47 rifles, four General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), one PKM Machine Gun, one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) bomb, one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) tube, 11 fully loaded magazines, 600 rustled cows and 300 rustled sheep were recovered.

He further said that during the clearance operations, the troops in collaboration with the Defence Forces of Niger Republic apprehended a high profile gunrunner, popularly known as “Kunene” who was responsible for the inflow of arms, ammunition and other dangerous weapons into the region.

In addition, Oni-Orisan said, the troops also apprehended three suspected bandits; Abubakar Kiri Koloma, Abubakar Ibrahim and Haruna Alhaji Yaro, as well as two notorious drug dealers; Kabiru Abubakar Isah and Hamisu Dan-kwanba at various locations in Zamfara during the period.

He said all the suspects had been profiled and handed over to the relevant security agencies for further investigation and prosecution.

The wife of a reverend in the Oko-Oba area of Lagos State, Mrs Olusola Adeleke, has been arrested by the police for allegedly burning the skin of her home help with a hot iron.

The woman was arrested along with the reverend, Adebanjo, as the couple were alleged to have subjected the nine-year-old girl to series of physical abuse since she started living with them two years ago.

Sunday PUNCH learnt that the girl’s travails came to the limelight recently when one of the Adeleke’s two dogs bit her in the chest while she was feeding them.

It was said that the couple did not take her to hospital for treatment which prompted a mandated reporter to inform a child rights advocate, Mrs Toyin Taiwo-Ojo, about the case.

Taiwo-Ojo, a lawyer, told our correspondent that apart from the dog bites and mark of iron, there were scars of lashes all over the girl’s body.

She explained that she approached the reverend, who claimed his wife was playing with the victim when the hot iron burned her skin.

She said, “I asked him if the iron is a toy but he was speechless. The woman didn’t tell us what the girl did that warranted such inhumane treatment but the girl said she was punished for bedwetting.

“She said she is from Ajara (in Badagry). According to the girl, the couple lured her to their house two years ago through her mother’s friend. They told the mother that an elderly couple without a child needed somebody to keep their company and they promised to send her to school. That was why her mother released her to the couple

“We have been trying to reunite her with her family. She doesn’t know her surname; she only knows that her father was an Alhaji before he passed on. The suspects are pastors. They used horsewhips to beat the little girl who is about nine years old. There were scars all over her body from several previous beatings.”

Our correspondent learnt that the state’s Ministry of Youth and Social Development were involved in the matter and the suspects were arrested on Thursday and transferred to the gender unit of the state police command headquarters in Ikeja.

The lawyer said the victim while narrating her experience stated that the couple gave her tough chores to do, including tendering to Adeleke’s aged mother.

She said, “The malnourished child said she had been staying with the couple for the past two years without going to school. Her daily chores include changing the diaper and cleaning of a 90-year-old grandmother, who also resides in the place. She also feeds the two Alsatian dogs in the house and takes care of their kennel. A scar by her breast was a dog bite she sustained four days earlier but the reverend and his wife did not deem it fit to take her to a hospital for anti-rabies and anti-tetanus injections.”

The child rights activist stated further that the girl was taken to a hospital for treatment where a preliminary report revealed that she had been sexually abused.

“A medical test has been carried out on her and the result will be out on Monday. The girl has not revealed who did the dastardly act to her because of the trauma she had gone through. We are still waiting for the outcome of the police investigation to know the perpetrator,” she added.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the arrest of the couple.

He said, “Investigation on the case is ongoing and the suspects will be charged to court after the conclusion of the investigation.”