A ten-year-old boy (names withheld) was in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, set ablaze for allegedly being a witch.
The incident which took place on Shalele street, near Immaculate
Primary School, Lafia-East, Lafia, caused the child to
be hospitalized at Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), Lafia.
The Nasarawa State Child Protection Network (CPN) which got wind of
the incident has decided to take over the issue legally. The men who
perpetrated the act – one Adamu and one Suleiman – were said to have
gone to the boy’s house at about midnight when his parents were not
around, put pepper in his eyes, poured petrol over his body and set him
on fire.
The men took the action sequel to a complaint by Adamu’s wife that
the boy appeared to her in a dream in the form of a lizard and attacked
her. Information at our disposal revealed that at the time of the
incident, the parents of the boy were not at home as the father was
reported to be ill and hospitalised in Wamba LGA of the state, the boy’s
elder brother and aunt watched helplessly as the men engaged in their
evil act.
Reacting to the incident, the CPN Coordinator in the state, Barrister
Evelyn Kaderi said, the network decided to take up the matter formally
and also ensure that the perpetrators were brought to book.
Even though we gathered that the suspects were making efforts at
settling the matter out of court, Kaderi said the decision was
unacceptable to CPN.
She stressed that if the suspects were punished for their actions, it
would serve as a deterrent to other people who have no regard for human
lives and who decide to take the law into the hands.
Kaderi who had earlier visited the victim on his hospital bed in
company of other members of the network told the mother of the child;
Jamila Haruna that CPN would not relent in its efforts at ensuring that
justice prevailed.
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