Mechanic,Bus driver in police custody for beating and brutalizing kids with plank and hot iron....SEE PHOTO

Firstclass newsline learnt that a 16-year-old Kafayat Bello, a year
two senior student of a school in Bariga in Lagos, wanted was to be a
normal girl who could sneak out to play with friends once in a while.
But what she did not expect was the kind of brutal punishment she
would later get from her father, a commercial bus driver.
On Tuesday, May 2, 2015, Kafayat's father, Ibrahim, pounced on her and
whipped her till she could not walk. Not done, he plugged their
pressing iron and burnt her multiple times, inflicting severe injuries
all over her body.
Kafayat, whose case has been taken over by the Office of the Public
Defender under the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, explained that on
the day of the incident, she was given the duty of attending to a
client who needed manicure and pedicure in her mother's beauty
parlour.
"When I finished attending to the customer, I left the shop to play
with some of my friends. When I got back, my mother asked where I was
and told me she would report me to my father. When I got home and my
mother told my father what I did, he started to beat me very hard and
he then went off to plug a pressing iron, which he used to burn me all
over my body," the girl said.
Kafayat's burnt thighs
Firstclass newsline learnt that when the brutal action of the father
became too scary for Kafayat's mother who stood by as her husband
punished their daughter, she rushed out to call neighbours for help,
who later came in to restrain him against further damage to the girl's
body.
OPD officials who handled the case said Ibrahim locked up her daughter
after the incident and warned her not to go out until the injuries
healed so that no one would know what happened.
"But when her classmates came looking for her from school they told
her she had missed some tests. In order not to miss more tests, she
rushed to school on Thursday, two days after she sustained the
injuries. When she got to school, that was when we discovered the
extensive injuries," a school official who reported the case said.
As soon as the case was reported, Ibrahim was arrested and OPD took
over the case.
Firstclass newsline counted at least 15 visible spots on the body of
the girl where she sustained severe injuries from her face down to her
thighs.
My father beats me all the time– 5-year-old boy beaten to coma with plank
Cases of brutality by parents against their children may not be a new
issue but the rising incidents of such crimes have become a source of
concern to authorities.
Apart from the case of Kafayat, more cases which have drawn the ire of
authorities include that of five-year-old Olamilekan Mustapha, whose
father, Adigun him till he lost consciousness.
His 28-year-old father reportedly resuscitated the boy but damage had
been done to his body.
The series of brutal beating Olamilekan's father has meted out to him
seems to have turned his young body to a map of some sort as healed
and fresh marks of whiplashes crisscross all over his body and face.
All the boy could say was "my father beat me all the time" when asked
about the marks all over his body.
Like Kafayat, observant teachers in Olamilekan's school promptly
reported his case to the authorities when they noticed the extensive
marks all over the boy's face and body when he went to school the
following morning.
Adigun, who is an auto mechanic, was later invited by the Office of
Public Defender, where he was later handed over to the police for
prosecution.
OPD said a protection order was being processed for the custody of
Olamilekan in a government children's home, where the boy would be
kept pending the determination of his father's case in the court.
Firstclass newsline learnt that Olamilekan's mother and Adigun had
separated some years ago. But that his step-mother, who is nursing a
two-month-old baby also beat the boy ruthlessly regularly as well.
Director of the OPD, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, told our correspondent that
the children were victims of transferred aggression but that the
severity of the cases has warranted that the fathers be charged to
court.
She said, "When we were notified about the case of the young boy, it
was so severe and fresh that we had to call the police. He is
receiving treatment at a hospital at the moment and he would be handed
over to government care for rehabilitation after that.
"In the case of the boy's father we did not want the police to waste
time on it. That was why we insisted he be charged to court
immediately."
It was learnt that Adigun has been arraigned and his case has been
adjourned till July 20 for mention.
In the hot iron assault case, Omotola said her office would continue
to monitor the case to ensure that Ibrahim was diligently prosecuted.
Rotimi said, "The case of the girl that was burnt with iron was so
severe that she could have lost her life in the process. We also have
the father in custody and would ensure that he is prosecuted
diligently for the severe assault on the girl.
"While he kept the girl at home, he invited an auxiliary nurse to
treat her injuries but the nurse did a very shoddy job. The injuries
could have deteriorated and caused further damage to the girl's body
if not because we were notified on time. We had to ensure the girl
receive adequate treatment first.
Firstclassnewsline.net