The Enugu Police Command has rescued the serially abused child in a viral video from a heartless guardian and has promised to prosecute both the woman and the girl’s uncle who gave her out as a house help.
A day before Christmas 2019, Police Commissioner Ahmad Abdulrahman showed the rescued young girl, Peace Goewam, to newsmen and also paraded her abuser, Mrs. Amaka Ortolehi, who claims to be from Ngor-Okpala in Imo State.
The victim, Peace, was brought down from Jos, Plateau State, two years ago and given to the Ortolehis in a deal that Mr. Abdulrahman says does appear like child slavery.
Abdulrahman said he felt a sense of revulsion when he viewed the video of the woman raising the child sky-high and dashing her to the hard earth only to later set upon her with blows and curses.
He described the action he saw as “an eyesore” and promptly directed his technical team as well as the anti-cult team to locate and arrest the heartless bully.
Also arrested was the woman’s husband, Nkemakolam, and the uncle who gave the child to them, Jonathan Goewam, who apparently also lives in Enugu.
The Police boss said he will hand over the girl to a government agency that will look after her until her parents can be contacted and brought down to Enugu to take her back.
The angry Commissioner however said both parents of the girl and the uncle that gave her out will have to answer to why they decided to give out the girl in a deal that looks like child slavery.
“We are suspecting foul play,” he said, adding that “this is a typical example of child abuse, child labour, torture and man’s inhumanity to man.”
Police will round up all those involved and slam them with appropriate charges in court, he said.
A tearful Mrs. Ortolehi however denied that she is a serial abuser and blamed the devil and her quick temper for her wicked action.
“I don’t know what came over me. I don’t treat her in such manner before (sic). You can enquire from her school. You can ask our neighbours.
“This is not how we have been living. I’m a lover of children; all come to my house.
“Anger put me to this. I love Peace; we have been living together for two years. This is just something that went out of the ordinary,” she said.
Commissioner Abdulrahman would have none of that. “Irrationally, she held her own daughter while she was thrusting this girl to the ground as if she was killing a foul,” he said in disgust.
