A woman, identified simply as Mrs.
Maxwell, has been arrested by the
police for allegedly assaulting her
daughter, Blessing, with a hot
pressing iron.
Blessing, a primary three student of
the Lagos Model Nursery and Primary
School, Ikeja GRA, was allegedly
assaulted last Monday by her mother
for licking the baby’s food.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the
incident came to light after a
neighbour, who lived within the
Police College Barracks, Ikeja, with
the Maxwells, allegedly called the
authorities of the LMNPS to complain
about Blessing’s condition.
Blessing’s father is said to be a
police corporal.
A source within the school, who
spoke on the condition of anonymity,
said, “It was last Friday that we got
the anonymous call. At the time, two
of Blessing’s younger siblings were in
school, so we called them aside and
asked after Blessing.
“At first, they were both scared that
they would get into trouble with their
mother if they told the truth but they
eventually opened up and said their
mother had used a hot pressing iron
on Blessing.”
The Head Teacher of the school,
accompanied by some other
employees of the school, was said to
have visited Blessing at home.
It was learnt that on arriving at the
Maxwells’ house, Blessing was seen
sitting outside their flat, sporting burn
marks all over her body.
The source said, “We tried to question
Blessing about what happened to her,
but she was scared of her mother.
Eventually, we went into the house
and confronted the mother, but she
lied that hot water had mistakenly
poured on Blessing.
“When we asked if Blessing had
received medical attention for her
injuries, her mother got annoyed and
dragged Blessing into the house. She
then refused to answer more
questions. Since it was a police
barracks, we thought it wise to leave
quietly before things got out of hand.
“The most painful aspect of the whole
issue is that despite Blessing’s
wounds, their neighbour told us that
she had been carrying out house
chores like before. From what I saw,
that girl is so injured that I didn’t
expect that she would be able to
come to school for the rest of the
term. Not one of us guessed that she
was being abused at home.”
PUNCH Metro gathered that both
mother and child were picked up by
officials of the Lagos State Ministry of
Women Affairs and Poverty
Alleviation after the school authorities
alerted the ministry. Blessing was
said to have been picked up by a
Lagos State Ambulance Service bus.
When our correspondent contacted
the Child Director, WAPA, Mrs.
Fadairo, she said, “I cannot talk at
this time. We are at the hospital and
Blessing is in critical condition.”
Lagos State Police Public Relations
Officer, Ngozi Braide, could not be
reached for comment.
http://www.punchng.com/metro/mother-burns-daughter-with-hot-iron/