Ayo and Khadijat Yahaya, are reported to have connived to burn the private parts of their 2-year-old son in Kuje, Abuja. They were apprehended by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other related offences on Saturday
Correspondents in THE PUNCH report that NAPTIP agents stated that the couple would spend the Christmas holidays in the cell, after which they would be arraigned in court on Wednesday.
Ayo a 43-year-old mechanic from Kogi state and his wife, 30 were arrested by the NAPTIP’s Rapid Response Squad after an anonymous source tipped them off.
Their 2-year-old son, was battered after sneaking into the kitchen because they usually kept him hungry, and eating one wrap of moin-moin (beans cake) left in a pot last week
No sooner had he started eating it than Khadijat arrived and allegedly pounded
him.
Sources from the PUNCH Metro gathered that the boy is from Ayo’s 1st marriage, which ended 5 months ago.
The couple were arrested and detained in a cell in Abuja after they had brutally burned the little boy allegedly on his hands, buttocks and genitals.
Josiah Emerole the head of Press and Public Relations in NAPTIP, verified the arrest, saying that the couple were to be charged to court after the festive period.
Emerole stated, “The boy had faced maltreatment, including starvation, since the father forcefully took him away from his biological mother. The little boy was starved from morning till 2pm on that day and he crawled to the kitchen where he saw some wraps of moin-moin and decided to help himself to one of them.”
“For that offence, the woman grabbed the little boy, held his hands and dipped them in boiling water. She also burnt his genitals. The boy’s screams attracted neighbours who came to his rescue, while one of them reported the matter to us.”
“He has gone through a successful surgery at a specialist hospital in Abuja through the support of some Good Samaritans.”
“The couple are now in NAPTIP’s custody, making useful statements while investigations continue. The Director-General, Julie Okah-Donli, has proclaimed that the suspects will be brought to justice.”