Man Allegedly Beats His 8-Year-Old Daughter To Coma
A Keke driver in Ifite, Awka South LGA of Anambra State, has been accused of assaulting his 8-year-old daughter until she lost consciousness.
The suspect, identified as Chinedu Adim from Abia State, is a father of two children who were abandoned by their mother eight years ago. He claimed that his daughter had mysterious injuries that were caused by spiritual attacks.
Chinedu said: “I used to be a vigilante before I started driving Keke. I married 12 years ago and we had two children, a girl and a boy. My wife left me after my shop was burnt down. My children were suffering in the village, so I brought them to live with me five years ago.
He continued: “One morning, I noticed wounds all over her body when I was bathing her. She said she woke up with them. I took her to the hospital and she was treated.
“Another time, she fell on the floor and hurt her head. She behaves strangely sometimes. She would disappear at night and I would not find her. I thought it was not normal and I took her to church for prayers.
“The last time, I came back to give her food and they told me she was taken to the hospital. She was in a coma for the whole day.”
However, the state commissioner for women and social welfare, Ify Obinabo, dismissed his story as a lie. She said that he had beaten his daughter severely and hoped that she would die to cover up his crime.
She said: “The girl has been in the hospital since yesterday. The father battered her and said she was beaten in a dream. He wanted her to die so that nobody would know what he did.
“Some men who are left by their wives become angry and take it out on their innocent children. They forget that they share the same blood with them.
“We are not against parents disciplining their children. But they should do it according to their age. That is why there is a saying that ‘you should use one hand to beat a child and use the other to draw him back.'”
She assured that the girl would receive proper medical care and survive. She also said that the suspect would be handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.
