The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a man, Surakat Idowu, for allegedly brutalising his five-year-old daughter with a hot iron in the Ikotun area of the state.
PUNCH Metro learnt that 45-year-old Idowu, who separated from his wife in 2013, allegedly tortured the girl with an iron in the face and in the private parts on Monday.
Our correspondent gathered that the girl, who stayed with her father on Kayode Toyeso Street, Liasu Road, in the Ikotun area, had been asked by her father to dispose faeces in a potty into the latrine, but she poured it on the floor.
It was learnt that Idowu, who worked as an auto mechanic, got a hot iron and allegedly battered the girl’s body.
Our correspondent was told that a neighbour, who witnessed the incident, reported at the Ikotun Police Division and the suspect was arrested.
The victim, who is said to be in a nursery school, was reportedly blinded by the burns she suffered on the face, while her private parts were swollen.
A neighbour, identified only as Basirat, said the girl slipped while going to pour the faeces into the latrine.
She said, “The mechanic had a quarrel with his wife and divorced her in 2013 when the girl was just two years old. On that Monday, he asked her to go and dispose of her faeces in a potty in a latrine at the backyard of the house. But the area was slippery and the girl fell, splashing the faeces on the floor.
“The father became angry and got a hot iron. He began to beat her with the hot surface of the iron until the girl’s face became swollen. We tried to caution him, but he would not listen. That was how the matter got to the police.”
It was learnt that the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, had directed that the case be transferred from the Ikotun Police Division to the Gender Unit at the command headquarters, Ikeja.
A police source told PUNCH Metro that efforts were on to locate the mother of the victim after two years of separation from Idowu.
Our correspondent gathered that the matter was also reported to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team, which was working with the Child Protection Unit of the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to get a shelter for the victim.
The DSVRT Coordinator, Lola Vivour-Adeniyi, said, “The victim is presently receiving treatment in a hospital due to the severe burns. The police have assured that the suspect will be prosecuted. When the victim completes medical treatment, she will be taken into protective custody.”
The CP, Owoseni, confirmed the arrest, adding that investigations were ongoing into the matter.
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