Skip to main content

Mother burns her 10-year-old daughter's face with electric iron in Akwa Ibom over missing 200 Naira

A 10-year-old girl, Udeme Usen Etukudoh, may have been scarred for life after her mother burnt her face with electric iron for allegedly stealing N200.

The incident happened yesterday in Ikot Ekang Itam, Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Read report by an NGO, Child's Right and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN).

Mother burns her 10-year-old daughter

Early Thursday, I met ten-year-old Udeme Usen Etukudoh, an indigene of Ikot Ekang Itam, being treated for burns and a deep cut on her face at a small pharmacy along Calabar/Itu Road. Upon inquiry, I learned that Udeme was severely abused by her own mother for "stealing N200", the sum which is less than a dollar.
Udeme, a Primary 5 pupil of RCM School, near Itam Police Divisional Headquarters, said her mother, because of the missing N200, pushed the plug of an electric iron into an electrical socket and further applied the extremely hot device on parts of her body. The burnings later disfigured her face. Not satisfied with the burns, the girl said her mother used a short wood to hit and tear open her right chin just by her eye. Her mother, Aniedi Etim Akpan (according to the little girl), had gone out for petty trading at the popular Itam market as of the time I visited their house to make findings. Udeme's stepfather, whose name could not be ascertained at the time of checks, and a woman who said she was the little girl's elder sister, said that the missing money was stolen by Udeme, and that she deserved the burns dealt on her as "punishment". But the little girl, who lives with her mother and stepfather, denied stealing the money. She said anytime money gets missing from her step father's pocket or house, the theft would be attributed to her. She said she was innocent of the accusation. Upon further inquiry, Udeme led me to her biological father, Usen Okon Etukudoh, a bricklayer who lives just close to where his daughter lives with her mother. Usen said Udeme had opted to stay with her mother, Aniedi, after their separation some years back, but that he would stab his former wife with a broken bottle if anything happens to his daughter.
As at 11.30 am, Udeme, dressed in her school uniform, had not taken breakfast when I met her at the pharmacy. To show the extent of trauma the little girl went through, the step-father who took her to the pharmacy shop rejected the bill of N4,000 he was asked to pay for the child's emergency treatment. He wanted to pay N2,000 instead. I had to buy a loaf of bread and Coca-Cola so that she could eat something before being administered with what the pharmacy attendant called "inflammatory injection" to stop the pain. Two things are likely to happen to the child if her father decides to let her stay continuously with her mother (as I later told him): it is either that she leaves the house (to God knows where) in order to be free from torture or she gets killed secretly by her mother and stepfather. God help the hapless child!

Mother burns her 10-year-old daughter
Her mother, Aniedi Etim Akpan.

Mother burns her 10-year-old daughter
Mother burns her 10-year-old daughter
Mother burns her 10-year-old daughter

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

John Boyega ends ambassadorial deal with Jo Malone after being cut out of an advert for the Chinese market

  Nigerian-born British actor, John Boyega has ended his ambassadorial deal with London cosmetics brand, Jo Malone, after being cut out of an advert he conceived, directed and starred in for the Chinese market.    Boyega was replaced by Liu Haoran after the commercial was recast and reshot for the Chinese market. The original advert, London Gent, which was released last year featured Boyega walking around Peckham, south London, riding a horse, dancing with friends and hanging out with his family. The original cast was multicultural, while the Chinese remake featured no black cast members.   Reacting to the development which many have described as systemic racism, John Boyega disclosed that it was done without his consent. He added that it will be dealt with swiftly as he "doesn't have time for nonsense."   The actor tweeted;    I have decided to step down as Jo Malone's global ambassador. When I joined the brand as their f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fire extinguishers

We supply and maintain Fire extinguishers and other Safety and Security products, call 08036290791
Post a Comment
Read more

Police close in on Turkish School pupils’ abductors.

The police have discovered where the kidnappers who abducted 10 students and staff of the Nigerian Turkish International College are keeping their hostages, it was learnt yesterday A top police source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the identities of the kidnappers had also been uncovered. The location, he added, was in the creeks, but detectives who were on the abductors’ trail could not access the place for fear of endangering the captives. “We know the exact location in the creek where the children and members of staff are kept but we cannot storm the place because the lives of the children are in danger. “We would not make mistake of attempting the creek because there is no how the kidnappers will not see us coming and they may end up killing their victims. We need the assistance of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the Nigerian Army, who we think have the wherewithal to penetrate the creek through the air,” he said. Another police source disclosed that the i...
Post a Comment
Read more