A pregnant woman faces child abuse and human
trafficking charges after she attacked her
housemaid with boiling water for waking up late.
According to PREMIUM TIMES, mother of one
Kemi Egbukole, 36, poured boiling water on 16-
year-old Hope David leaving her breasts with
severe injuries. Police said Egbukole would be
charged after investigations are concluded.
Mrs. Egbukole, a resident of of Minta 1 Estate,
Lokogoma, Abuja, is currently being investigated
for child abuse and trafficking offences by the
Police, National Human Rights Commission and
National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking
in Persons,( NAPTIP)
According to the Deputy Director, Protection and
Investigations, National Human Rights Commission,
Lambert Oparah, Mrs. Egbukole initially denied
the assault charges but later admitted the
attack, claiming it was an accident, and the
victim was immediately taken to the hospital for
treatment.
The Director however revealed that Hope wasn't
taken to the hospital as claimed by the suspect.
"She was taken to a chemist, they put
plasters around her breast which was not
quite good," he said
Neighbours who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES
described Mrs. Egbukole as a "notorious child
abuser" who repeatedly attacked Hope with
dangerous objects including rods.
"She ran out of the house and came to my
side," one of the neighbour said. "Mrs.
Egbukole was still trying to flog her with a
mop stick."
The neighbour said at first she thought Hope was
attacked with pepper or cold water as in the
past.
"I thought it was just water and pepper,
or something, until the girl screamed back
again in my room and I shouted, ‘What!’
the breast has peeled already. So I
shouted and said ‘Come you did this thing
to this girl and you still want to flog her
again? I will report you to the police and
NAPTIP; at that point she started begging
and immediately she started telling lies,"
the neighbour said.
Mrs. Egbukole claimed Hope poured herself water,
according to a neighbour.
But the woman had a history of abusing the girl,
the neighbour said, citing how Mrs. Egbukole a
day earlier had hit Hope with a curtain rail,
injuring her in the head.
Mr Opara alleges that Hope was trafficked to
Abuja. According to him, Mrs Egbukole said the
girl was brought to her by a pastor who usually
supplied girls from Nasarawa State to Abuja
residents seeking house helps.
"She said she does not know the girl’s
parents, Mr. Oparah added.
The commission immediately made a reported to
the Commissioner of Police, Abuja, who directed
further investigations into the case. Mrs.
Egbukole will most likely be charged for abuse of
the Child Rights’ Act, 2003.
"The Child Rights’ Act clearly states the
responsibility of parents or wards, as well
as government or other agencies involved;
regarding the dignity of the child, as well
as the child’s right to adequate health and
health services, which have both been
abused in this case," Oparah said.
Mrs Egbukole and her husband had been at the
FCT police command for interrogation and would
be required to return intermittently till the end
of the investigation.
The Abuja police spokesperson, Manzah Adjuguri,
who confirmed the incident said Mrs. Egbukole
claims that the pastor who brought Hope from
Nasarawa was her uncle. He assured the matter
will be charged after investigation.
"It is a matter of concern to the command
based on the rate of injuries that has been
sustained by the girl. And for us, here at
the command, justice must take its full
course," he stated.
Adjuguri further said the command was still in
touch with Hope, who is currently recovering
under the custody of NAPTIP.
The spokesperson of NAPTIP, Joshua Emerole, said
Hope would remain under the agency’s care until
the end of the investigation and that Mrs
Egbukole faces other charges including the
violation of the Violence Against Persons
Prohibition Act, 2015.
Source: PREMIUM TIMES
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