A 17-year-old girl that was tied up and locked in a room without food has been rescued by the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare.
According to the information available to NIGERIACRIME, the victim was who hails from Nise in Awka South Local Government Area of the state, was maltreated by her stepfather, Sunday Ezeh.
The development was confirmed by the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs Ify Obinabo, on Tuesday.
The commissioner told journalists that the government has rushed the girl to Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Amaku, Awka, for medical diagnosis and treatment.
Some indigenes of Nise had approached the ministry to expose the stepfather, who is said to be a traditionalist.
She said, “Due to the sensitivity of the case, the Ministry collaborated with the local vigilante to rescue the girl and apprehend the accused before handing him over to the police.
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“The girl sustained a lot of injuries in all parts of her body and, as a result, was billed for emergency surgery in the head. The surgery was successful, and she is recuperating at the paediatric ward of the teaching hospital.”
Anambra State has zero tolerance for any form of crime or abuse against children, the commissioner said, adding that offenders would be made to face the wrath of the law.
She added that the case has been transferred to the Anambra State Police Criminal Investigative Department.
Narrating her ordeal, the victim said her stepfather tied her hands and feet and locked her in a room for one month without food.
“I cannot remember what I did wrong, but my father told me I messed up the compound with my excreta and that beating me and locking me up without food was my punishment.
“He used a bamboo plank to hit me on the head, which was why I had a head injury. People around saw the way he was beating me and came to my rescue,” she recounted.
Meanwhile, Ezeh, the accused, said he was only punishing his daughter for her disobedience and for desecrating his compound with defecation.
According to him, such acts were against his traditional belief and practices.