My uncle maltreats me, Starves me, I sleep on kitchen floor- 9 year-old girl
Residents of 33-Estate in the Onitsha axis of Anambra State have rescued a nine-year-old child who says she has been under bondage in her uncle’s house.
The child at the time of rescue had bruises all over her body reportedly inflicted on her by the uncle, one Hilary Epeh from Enugu State.
Narrating her ordeal, the girl said she was compelled to stay with her uncle following her mother’s inability to train her in school.
“I never wanted to be a househelp but my uncle promised my mother that he will send me to school, a promise he never kept.
“I stay at home while my uncle’s children go to school. I sleep on the kitchen floor while my uncle’s children sleep on bed in the room. His wife starves me over minor provocation, at times for the whole day,” she stated.
Epe was said to have assaulted the victim with marks all over her body for not fetching water for the household.
A resident of the area who identified himself as Statesman told our correspondent that they rescued the girl on at night while fetching water.
He described the act as barbaric and inhuman, stating that the matter had been reported to the police.
He said “We found the girl along the street fetching water at night with a swollen face and bruises all over her body.
“When we asked her what happened, she initially could not talk because she had lost her voice while crying.
“We quickly reported the matter to the police and the man was summoned together with his wife.
“He told the police that he beat the girl because he came back from market and there was no water at home for him to take his bath.
“This man’s first daughter is older than this innocent girl, yet he spared his daughter for not fetching the water.”
A police source who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent on Wednesday that the suspected had been arrested and detained at a correctional service centre and would be taken to court soon.
