If not for the sudden intervention of good neighbours, little Ahmed Audu (not real name) could have been killed by his mentally imbalanced biological mother in Bauchi metropolis who is believed to have been ill-treating him since she came to the neighbourhood.
Our correspondent gathered from some neighbours that the mother of the ill-treated child who is believed to have given birth to him out of wedlock three years ago is married to a different person and has been venting her anger by giving him all sorts of punishment.
The little boy who is currently taking shelter in Malam Suleiman’s house was seen recuperating from burn injuries he sustained from hot water after spending some days in the hospital.
Neighbours alleged that the burns sustained by the boy were a deliberate attempt by his mother to maltreat him, and as a result, the boy was taken away from her because she openly said that she doesn’t like him.
However, in an interview, the mother of the boy denied all the allegations levelled against her by her neighbours, saying that she only punishes him if he misbehaves.
On whether there is any fault play on the issue of the burns the boy sustained from hot water, she said: “When I kept the hot water, I warned him not to tamper with it but before I came out from my room I heard him crying, on coming out, I realized that he has poured the hot water on his two legs and got himself burned”.
The husband who corroborated his wife’s denial said the allegations of maltreatment or plotting to kill the innocent child levelled against them was the handiwork of those who hate them, adding he has been adjudged to be a good man by the head of the community and that was why he secured a rented apartment for him.
Reacting on the incident, the Bauchi state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Child Development, Hon Hajara Jibrin Gidado confirmed that the issue has been brought to her table by a good Samaritan.
According to her, she was informed that a woman was said to have in connivance with her husband engaged in maltreating the child who is three years old.
“When I heard about it, I called the head of that area and directed that the child be taken to a specialist hospital, I made the Chief Medical Director and asked him to take good care of the child and he handed him over to one, Dr Kama”, the commissioner said.
She said when the Doctor examined both the child and the mother, he said the mother might be suffering from depression which has affected her psychologically while the boy was suffering from malnutrition apart from the burns in his two legs.
“The boy was malnourished at the time he was taken to the hospital but he has been treated and has been recovering. Our intention was to treat the boy of the malnutrition and the burns he sustains on his two legs and thereafter, take the mother to psychiatric for proper examination and treatment but few days after I left the hospital I heard that she has absconded from the hospital”, Hon Gidado said.
“When I called the CMD he told me that she might have been discharged from the hospital by a new Doctor Who doesn’t know her case because the one taking care of her and the child had travelled outside Bauchi but I have ordered that she should be brought back to the hospital for further treatment and we can not afford to leave that child in her custody with the way she is maltreating him, she might end up killing him.
She explained that on sitting her down, she was able to understand that the woman who was married off in her early life was later dumped by her husband and parents, a situation which made her to move around, and in the process, someone impregnated her outside wedlock from which she gave birth to the boy.
“From the interaction I had with her, I was made to understand that she has been with her current husband for not more than one week from the day I got to know about this issue.
The Commissioner who assured that the government has taken over the case noted that this is not the first time such issues are resolved by the government.
“I have directed the Acting Permanent Secretary of the ministry to look for her relatives so that they will oversee the treatment of the child while the mother will be taken to the teaching hospital for further examination to treat her of the psychological problems”, she noted.
On his part, a lawyer and a human right defender, Barrister Hussaini Saraki who alongside his colleague, Mr Mbami Iliya Sabka of the Prison Inmate Development Initiative (PIDI-Nigeria) who led a team of journalists to the house where the little boy is taking refuge said he was shocked when he received the news of the alleged maltreatment of the three-year-old boy by his biological mother.
“Honestly I was shocked to my bone marrow when I heard about the ugly incident. I have been hearing that she use to beat the boy I thought it was a mere saying until they sent me his pictures and videos where the boy’s two legs have been seriously burned. This made me believe the boy has been suffering in the hands of his own mother and I felt enough is enough of that inhumane treatment”, Barrister Saraki said.
Adding that “I was moved by the evidence I saw and I called my colleague, Mr Mbami Iliya and we decided that we have to do something to safe the life of the innocent child who is now under the care of Malam Suleiman Tura, a neighbour to them. The child has been in his care for three days now, and from what we are seeing the boy is recovering”.
The lawyer who is also a permanent commissioner in the state scholarship board urged people to always report such happenings to the nearest authorities as according to him, such attitude if not checked, is capable of bringing a curse to the society which will, in turn, retard development.
Saraki who commended the commissioner for taking prompt action with a view to rescuing the child, prayed God to reward the neighbours for exposing the mother and the family of Suleiman for taking custody of the child, adding that government is making effort to take back the mother to the hospital for treatment while the child might be handed over to the social welfare for proper care.
