The Lagos State Police Command on Tuesday
paraded the two dogs that attacked four-year-old
Omonigho Abraham in the Igando area of the state.
The police, while parading the two German
shepherd dogs at its headquarters in Ikeja, added
that the dogs had been examined and had been
found to be disease-free.
The Commissioner of Police, Cornelius Aderanti,
said it was important to parade the dogs so that the
public would be convinced that the dogs were still in
police custody, and had not been released as was
being rumoured.
He, however, said only a court of law could decide
whether the two dogs-which devoured the scalp of
the little boy-would be killed or not.
He said, “We have brought the dogs out so that the
public would know that they are still in police
custody. They have been examined and they show
no negative trait. It is only the court that will decide
what happens to them. The police cannot decide to
kill the dogs.”
PUNCH Metro had reported on Tuesday, October
21, that the victim, Omonigho, had asked the police
and the government to ensure that the dogs which
almost took his life be killed.
It was reported that Omonigho, who was now in the
Burns and Plastic Wards of the Lagos State
University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja still had a
bandaged head and some scars on his face.
On Tuesday at the police command, a veterinary
police officer, Yahaya Usman, also told journalists
that the medical report showed the dogs had no
infection.
He said, “Initially, we quarantined the dogs and
wanted to find out whether the dogs had any
disease or not. That was the first step taken by the
police. The dogs were under our watch for weeks.
“So far, they have not shown any negative trait. The
medical history shows that they don’t have rabies
or the Ebola Virus Disease. The dogs are with us,
and only the court will determine what happens to
them.”
Meanwhile, the victim’s father, Mr. Odiah Abraham,
said apart from the attack on his son, the dogs had
also terrorised other residents.
He said three days prior to his son’s attack, the
dogs had chased a neighbour and residents had
thereafter warned the dog owner.
He said, “Three days to the incident, a woman who
lives in the neighbourhood had gone downstairs to
spread her clothes on the line. She had left and was
approaching her room when the dogs broke out of
their cage and pursued her. She was just lucky that
she was close to her room, if not they would have
bitten her.
“She ran in and shut the door against herself. The
dogs stood at the gate for some time and when they
saw she did not open, they ran back to their cage.
My wife met the dog’s owner and told him to do
something about the dogs, as there were little
children within the neighbourhood, but he just
ignored the warning.”
However, the owner of the dogs, Mr. Stanley
Wesley, has been arraigned in court for negligence
but has been granted bail.

www.punchng.com/news/police-parade-dogs-that-attacked-four-year-old-boy-2/