A housewife, identified simply as Zainab, resident in the Oke Oniti area of Osogbo, Osun State, has been arrested for allegedly bathing her 11-year old daughter with hot water for refusing to run an errand for her.
The spokesperson for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Osun State, Daniel Adigun, on Tuesday, confirmed the arrest of the suspect.
He said, “The woman was cooking when the incident happened. She injured the victim with hot water, obviously out of frustration. We are proceeding with our investigation.”
A neighbour to the housewife, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Zainab had sent his daughter to grind pepper, but the girl refused.
“In anger, the woman attacked the girl with hot water and inflicted injuries on her. Immediately the incident happened, a woman, who has a shop nearby, rushed inside the house and dragged the suspect out. The woman and another neighbour, a man, beat her up. The neighbours also took the victim to a hospital and paid her bills.
“The woman had the girl in her first marriage before she got married to her present husband.
“On the day she poured hot water on her, the victim had lost the key to their apartment, but she later found it. The mother insisted on beating her and the girl was scared to go near the house.
“It was after that incident that the mother told her to grind pepper, but the girl did not run the errand. She thought that the mother wanted to lure her in and punish her. The mother seized her and poured hot water on her,” the neighbour said.
