A 14-year-old girl from Akwa Ibom State has suffered severe burns while in the care of her aunt in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State.
Chidiebube Okeoma, a journalist and human rights activist, disclosed the incident in a video shared on Facebook.
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Mr Okeoma said the matter had been reported to the State Criminal Investigations Department in Owerri and that his organisation, Stands For Humanity Foundation, was involved in the case.
The video
“It happened in Ngor Okpala LGA in Imo State. The woman is from Akwa Ibom. The child is from Akwa Ibom, too,” Mr Okeoma wrote.
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In the accompanying video, Mr Okeoma interviewed the girl, who appeared to have extensive burn injuries on parts of her body.
“She’s a woman; we can’t open her clothes,” Mr Okeoma said while the girl is being filmed.
“The girl is 14 years old. Her breasts, all parts of her body. This is hot water,” he added as the camera showed injuries around the girl’s neck.
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The girl, speaking in the video, gave an account of how she allegedly sustained the injuries.
She said her aunt had asked her where she had gone but that she did not disclose it.
According to the girl, she later returned home and was asked by her aunt to fetch leaves for cooking.
“She asked me again, and I refused to tell her. She said that we were going to cook that food that night, and it was late,” the girl said.
WATCH FULL VIDEO HERE
She said her aunt subsequently asked her brother to boil water for her younger sister to bathe.
“She did not know that my brother did not mix cold water into the water, and the water was not too hot,” she said.
The girl said her aunt later asked her to buy something from a nearby location while she was preparing the leaves.
She alleged that her aunt subsequently assisted her brother in bathing her younger sister before the hot water was poured on her.
“She now went and supported my brother to bathe my little sister and did not know my brother did not mix cold water, and she now poured the water on me. The water was not too hot,” she said.
Mr Okeoma, apparently reacting to the injuries, asked: “The water was not too hot, and it did this level of injuries on you?”
He initially declined to expose the girl’s body further while explaining that she was a minor and a woman.
He later showed part of the girl’s body, revealing what appeared to be serious injuries.
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A woman’s voice could also be heard in the video saying, “If you see (her) chest.”
Mr Okeoma did not provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the incident or the identity of the woman alleged to have been caring for the girl.
The girl’s aunt, who allegedly poured the hot water on her, was also seen in the video sitting in what appeared to be the office where the interview was conducted. The woman did not speak during the video.
The police spokesperson in Imo, Henry Okoye, has confirmed the incident.
Mr Okoye told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday morning that “the matter is being investigated by the SCID” in Imo and promised to provide further updates after the investigation.
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