The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has reaffirmed the Nigeria Police Force’s dedication to diligently prosecute the case of alleged domestic violence concerning Anambra-based lawyer, Adachukwu Okafor.
The IGP, represented by Bisi Okuobi, the Head of Police Campaign against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), held a press conference in Abuja where the suspect was paraded.
It was emphasized that the Police chief maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards domestic violence and the abuse of minors. Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy, was also in attendance.
Okuobi, a Chief Superintendent of Police, stated that police action was prompted by a complaint lodged with the IGP by the Minister of Women Affairs.
This complaint arose after a viral video depicted the minor sustaining injuries allegedly inflicted by the lawyer, who had employed her as a maid for two weeks.
The suspect reportedly used a broken bottle, knife, and electric iron to inflict severe harm on the child, who had started living with her on January 5th.
The incident occurred in Akpaka, Onitsha, within the Onitsha North Local Government Area of Anambra State, following Okafor’s accusation that the housemaid had interfered with her daughter.
“Recall that on February 5th, the internet was awakened by the news of a 10-year-old girl who had burns all over her body. The girl was a maid to one Barrister Adachukwu Helen Okafor of GRA 33, Onitsha, Anambra,” she said.
“She has just been a maid for two weeks, a period during which the said barrister accused the minor of fondling the penis of her six-year-old son while bathing him. On January 29th, this suspect accused her of this and proceeded to tie her hands, and mouth and flogged her.
“She also inserted a hot knife inside her private and poured ground pepper into it as well. She then placed a hot electric iron into the socket and used it on the maid’s cheek and on her two buttocks. After causing the maid trauma, she now locked her up in her toilet from the afternoon of the incident to the evening of the following day without food.”
The police representative mentioned that following the ordeal, the suspect allegedly returned the maid to her aunt in a naked state, still bearing the trauma she had endured. Upon noticing burns on the maid’s cheeks and buttocks, as well as signs of bleeding and discharge from her private area, the representative of the IGP stated that the aunt raised an alarm, drawing the attention of passersby.
According to Okuobi, after the incident gained traction on social media, the suspect went into hiding upon learning that both the Anambra State Police Command and the state government were actively pursuing her arrest.
She added, “The alarm attracted passersby who brought out their phones and started recording and taking pictures and this went straight into the social space. This attracted the police of Anambra State Comand as well as the Commissioner for Women Affairs in Anambra State.
“All efforts to arrest her proved abortive because she took her heels and became elusive. The honourable minister, Barrister Uju Kennedy, a barrister herself, took the case and released a N2 million bounty on her head.
“She also wrote a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Egbetokun Kayode, who ordered that the petition be handed by the Force CID and the men of the Force CID took action immediately. When the woman discovered that the heat on her was much, I believe she advised herself to come out from her hiding place.
“As soon as she came out, she was arrested. Her statement was taken and she is here with us. She is a mother of four kids. We hope the young girl recuperates better.”
The 10-year-old victim, according to the police is currently on admission receiving treatment at the Enugugu General Hospital in Anambra State.