A mother-of-four, Mary Omifunto, has been arrested by policemen from Akinpelu Police Station for pouring hot water on her daughter in the Oshodi area of Lagos State, inflicting burns on some parts of her body.
According to reports, Omifunto attacked her 14-year-old daughter, Oladiran Kaosarat, who is in Primary 5, while scolding her for refusing to go and hawk last Sunday.
Guidance and Counselling unit of the Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Education Authority caught wind of the incident and reported the case to police at the Akinpelu Police Division, who arrested the mother.
A child rights activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, with City Round said the case had been transferred to Gender Unit of Lagos State Police Command in Ikeja.
The official said;
The woman’s shop is at Dipo-Olu in Oshodi but she lives on Brown Street with the girl. Last Sunday, the girl declined to hawk. It resulted in an argument and she slapped her. She said her daughter slapped her back but the girl denied it. She wanted to hit her with a metal object but people intervened and collected it from her.
She then went for water she was boiling and poured it on the girl. She (Kaosarat) ran to a nearby health centre. Some officials from the hospital came and halted the woman’s cooking for the day. They asked her to get some prescribed drugs but she tore the paper. It was her neighbours who contributed N10,000 to buy some drugs.
The girl is her first child. She has divorced her father after three children and remarried with another child. [sic]
Coordinator, Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network, Mr Ebenezer Omejalile, said the organisation was also following up the case.
He said;
The incident happened on December 13. They have a lot of unsold beef. The mother said she had told her on Saturday that she would hawk the following day so that the meat would not waste. The girl declined and in the ensuing altercation, she poured water on her. The perpetrator is currently in police custody of Akinpelu. The girl school’s social worker is aware of the case.
On his part, police spokesperson in the state, SP Muyiwa Adejobi, said Omifunto would be charged after investigation and urged parents to always control their anger.
He added;
The Commissioner of Police has condemned the act. It is surprising why someone would do such a thing to her biological daughter. The girl is in pain. It is quite unfortunate.
