The Anambra State Government has arrested a woman, Mrs Osinachi Edeh, who inflicted severe burns all over the body of her ward, Miss Amah Miracle, on suspicion of having a boyfriend.
The suspect had scalded the skin of the Junior Secondary School, JSS 3 student of Community Secondary School, Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area, with a hot iron after accusing her of using her phone to speak to her boyfriend.
Announcing the arrest on her social media page, the State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, said police operatives arrested the guardian, Mrs Edeh, after the burns on the student’s body were discovered by her teachers.
The commissioner, who insisted the woman must face justice, said: “I swear on my honour, this woman will face the wrath of God and the justice of man if found guilty.”
She reaffirmed the government’s commitment to child protection, noting that the safety of every child remains a top priority under Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration.
The student, whose breasts, face, arm, and legs were burnt, had confessed to her teacher that the injury was inflicted by her guardian.
She said she had used her guardian’s phone to call her cousin, without knowing her guardian overheard her conversation, and accused her of keeping boyfriends.
She said what started with a mere slap degenerated into her guardian using a hot iron to scald her entire body, leaving her in pain.
“The truth was that I was trying to reach my cousin so I could inquire about the welfare of my mother, because the condition I saw her in during Christmas was not good. Unfortunately, the number I called was a wrong number, and I dropped the call and deleted the number.
The person started calling back my guardian, and she came to where I was and slapped me, asking who I called. I told her the truth, but she didn’t believe.
“She first brought a knife and threatened to use it on me if I didn’t confess.
“She continued accusing me of using her phone to call my boyfriend. She accused me of refusing to return with her after Christmas because of the boyfriends I was keeping.
“She then used the iron and wounded me all over my body,” the sobbing Miracle recounted.
