A ten-year-old boy (names withheld) was in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, set ablaze for allegedly being a witch.
The
incident which took place on Shalele street, near Immaculate Primary
School, Lafia-East, Lafia, caused the child to be hospitalized at
Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), Lafia.
The
Nasarawa State Child Protection Network (CPN) which got wind of the
incident has decided to take
over the issue legally. The men who
perpetrated the act – one Adamu and one Suleiman – were said to have
gone to the boy’s house at about midnight when his parents were not
around, put pepper in his eyes, poured petrol over his body and set him
on fire.
The
men took the action sequel to a complaint by Adamu’s wife that the boy
appeared to her in a dream in the form of a lizard and attacked her.
Information at our disposal revealed that at the time of the incident,
the parents of the boy were not at home as the father was reported to be
ill and hospitalised in Wamba LGA of the state, the boy’s elder brother
and aunt watched helplessly as the men engaged in their evil act.
Reacting
to the incident, the CPN Coordinator in the state, Barrister Evelyn
Kaderi said, the network decided to take up the matter formally and also
ensure that the perpetrators were brought to book.
Even
though we gathered that the suspects were making efforts at settling
the matter out of court, Kaderi said the decision was unacceptable to
CPN.
She
stressed that if the suspects were punished for their actions, it would
serve as a deterrent to other people who have no regard for human lives
and who decide to take the law into the hands.
Kaderi
who had earlier visited the victim on his hospital bed in company of
other members of the network told the mother of the child; Jamila Haruna
that CPN would not relent in its efforts at ensuring that justice
prevailed.
No comments:
Post a Comment