The Imo State Police Command has arrested a man, identified as Lucky Adim, for allegedly using an electric cable to inflict multiple injuries on his 10-year-old daughter, Confidence Adim, in Owerri.
The arrest of the suspect was initiated following a petition by a human rights protection group, Stand for Humanity Foundation, after the child was brought to the organisation with multiple body injuries.
The president of the organisation, Chidiebube Okeoma, disclosed the arrest of the suspect in a statement, saying the victim and her two younger siblings were rescued from the streets by concerned Nigerians.
According to Okeoma, the group petitioned the Owerri Urban Divisional Police Headquarters, seeking an investigation into the alleged abuse, arrest of the suspect and his prosecution.
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He said the police subsequently arrested Adim, who admitted to assaulting his daughter.
“Mr Lucky Adim was arrested by the police in Owerri . His arrest was initiated by us at Stand for Humanity Foundation after good Nigerians brought the brutalised child and her two younger siblings to us.
The man used cable wire to brutalise his 10-year-old daughter. He has owned up to the crime,” Okeoma said.
The victim, according to Okeoma, was later taken to Police Hospital in Owerri for medical treatment, while her two younger siblings were taken to an orphanage in Owerri for temporary care.
The human rights group urged the police to prosecute the suspect, stressing that child abuse should not be treated as a private family matter.
“Child abuse is not a family affair. It is a constitutional issue and punishable under Section 355 of the Criminal Code, Cap. C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, as applicable in Imo State,” he added.
The group maintained that it would pursue the matter through the appropriate legal channels, adding that the case should serve as a deterrent to parents who abuse their children.
“We are insisting that the suspect be arraigned by the police so as to serve as a deterrent to parents who abuse their children, thinking that the law permits them,” Okeoma said.
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