Woman arrested for locking orphan in dog cage – TheNigerialawyer

Police in Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, have arrested a woman
who was recently seen in a recorded video flogging and locking a
10-year-old boy in a kennel with dogs.

In the said video which went viral on social media this month,
the woman, who has been identified as 24-year-old Onyinye, is seen
beating the child with a belt before dragging him into the kennel.
She then locks the kennel and walks away.

Her actions were secretly filmed by a neighbour and after the
video went viral, many social media users who were outraged called
on the police to take action.

On Thursday, a police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, said the
suspect had been arrested.

“Last week, we got the report of a lady who beat up a lad and
threw him into a dungeon of dogs.

“The domestic violence response team of the Lagos State Police
Command was activated. The team went into action and the lady was
arrested.

“The suspect is in custody and will be charged to court. The boy
who happens to be an orphan has been rescued and kept in a shelter
provided by the Lagos State Government,” Badmos wrote on her
Instagram page.

The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Bala
Elkana, gave further details in a statement cited by Punch.

He said Onyinye, who lives in Aguda, Surulere in Lagos, claimed
after her arrest that the child, who happens to be an orphan, had
stolen an item in the house.

“On August 14, 2019, a team of detectives from the Gender Unit,
Command’s Headquarters Ikeja, arrested Onyinye for assault and
child abuse. This followed a viral video on the social media
showing the suspect torturing one Chibike of same address.

“The video also showed the suspect locking the boy up in a
kennel, sharing space with dogs. The video was widely condemned by
well-meaning Nigerians.

“The Commissioner of Police Lagos State, CP Zubairu Muazu,
ordered the Gender Unit of the command to identify the woman in the
video, rescue the child and make the suspect face the full weight
of the law.

“The Domestic and Sexual Response Team, Alausa, Ikeja, also
added its voice to the call for investigation with a petition
addressed to the Commissioner of Police to that effect.

“The Gender Unit traced the suspect to a liquor store in
Surulere and her residence at Aguda. The boy was rescued and taken
to a secure shelter. The suspect admitted that she was the one in
the viral video flogging the child with belt, but she denied
locking the survivor in a cage with dogs. That she only locked him
in an empty dog kennel where bags are kept.

“She claimed to have locked up the boy for a few hours before
bringing him out. She alleged that the boy took a hot drink in
their refrigerator and was misbehaving. That the suspect smashed
the side mirror of her Toyota Camry with stone which made her
detain him in the kennel.

Found this video on IG: @pinkberryblooom and
I think this needs to be investigated. If there’s anyone with any
useful info on the source of this video, kindly hit me up. Cc
@TunjiDisu1 @aleeygiwa @PoliceNG_CRU @PoliceNG @MirabelCentreNG @thepamilerin @channelstv @YourViewTVC pic.twitter.com/TczvaNlpHR^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

— Babaolowo Rolihlahla Madiba ?? (@enyola) August
4, 2019^[10]

“Investigation revealed that the survivor lost his parents and
was brought to Lagos in 2012 from Anambra State by the mother of
the suspect along with his two siblings. The suspect and the
survivor are cousins.

“The suspect’s mother is the elder sister of the survivor’s
father. The suspect will be charged to court.”

The police have, so far, applauded the resident who recorded the
video and reported the incident for further actions to be
taken.

The video below shows the child being dragged into the
kennel: