A female secondary teacher in Imo state, Mrs Blessing Emmanuel, has been arrested by the police for dehumanising a 12-year-old girl, Amarachi Emmanuel.
Mrs Emmanuel was arrested Tuesday following a complaint made by an Owerri-based activist journalist, Chidiebube Okeoma, at Owerri Area command headquarters in Owerri
The victim’s plight was brought to the attention of the activist by two women, Eunice and Amarachi, who saw the girl selling sachet water on the streets of Owerri with her battered body.
In a video clip posted by Okeoma on social media which had gone viral, the girl was seen with bruises, scars and matching cuts.
Okeoma confirmed the arrest of the woman in Owerri on Thursday and said that he took the girl to Umuguma General Hospital in Owerri, where she is receiving intense medical attention currently.
He said: “Amarachi Emmanuel is 12 years old. Her mother died in 2018 and his father married the suspect in 2019. They live in the Nekede area of Owerri. The girl and her two siblings have been out of school for years now. The woman commanded them to hawk sachet water for her every day and be making returns to her while their mates are in school.”
According to Okeoma, the girl told him that her stepmother dehumanises them, adding that they sell pure water for her from morning till night and mostly go to bed hungry.
The victim said that what broke the camel’s back was because she said she cooked rice and ate without the woman’s permission, and on getting home, the woman battered her.
The activist and journalist told our Correspondent in Owerri that he personally took the girl to Owerri Area command and got the woman arrested immediately.
He also took the victim to Umuguma General Hospital, where she was admitted in order to save her life, adding that he has also enrolled her into the Imo State Health Insurance Scheme for vulnerable children in the state.
He said, “I have involved the National Human Rights Commission, the Owerri Municipal Council Welfare Department, and the Imo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
He told Tribune Online that many Human Rights organisations, as well as the Owerri branch of the Nigeria Bar Association, has contacted him, while various media organisations are interested in the girl’s matter now.
He said, “Bartering of children has no place in the 21st century. Police are investigating and my request is that the woman be arraigned. The woman turned the girl and her siblings into slaves, simply because their mother is late and their father is medically unstable.”
He said: “I want to get the girl and her siblings off the streets. My idea is to enrol her in a school and her siblings too. Currently, they live in a shanty. They will need a decent apartment once she gets back on her feet again.”
Okeoma disclosed that the victim’s eyes, vagina, left leg, right hand and stomach were battered with burns and matchet cuts, adding that little Amarachi Emmanuel needs the assistance of everyone to get out of this ugly situation
Meanwhile, when contacted, the Imo State Police Command Public Relations Officer, ASP Henry Okoye, confirmed the arrest and disclosed that the state Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, had already ordered that the right things be done in the matter.
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