Chiemelie Ezeobi
For physically and sexually abusing their teenage house help, the duo of Mr. Chigozie and Mrs. Isioma Ezeofor, were wednesday arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command.
The couple who reside at 26 Aunty Toyin Street, Kodeibo Estate, Ijegun Road, Isheri Oshun, Lagos, were said to have constantly abused the teenage girl, Blessing Joseph, before she was rescued by the police.
Whilst the physical abuse was ongoing, the man was said to have also sexually assaulted her by forcefully allegedly sodomising her on several occasions.
However, the last stroke that broke the camel’s back was when Mrs. Ezeofor poured a kettle of boiling hot water on the girl for a minor offence she committed.
Given the gravity of the injury, which was left untreated, a neighbour who pleaded for anonymity was said to have tipped off the police.
Confirming the arrests, the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, said the teenager had suffered terribly at the couple’s hands.
He said: “Encouraged by the decisive manner in which cases of sexual exploitation and abuse are resolved in the command, as it bears on all cases involving the girl child, women and the juvenile, many have found their voices against their exploiters.
“Today (Wednesday), the command recorded another case of abuse perpetrated against one Miss Blessing Joseph by her employers, Mr. and Mrs. Chigozie Ezeofor of No 26 Aunty Toyin street, Kodeibo Estate, Ijegun road, Isheri Oshun, Lagos.
“According to Blessing, she has suffered terribly in the hands of the aforementioned couple who take delight in dehumanising her regularly.
“She further revealed to the police that her “ Madam†Isioma Ezeofor, beats her up at the slightest provocation while her husband Chigozie Ezeofor, sneaks up to her whenever his wife was away and had made several painful attempts to sodomise her.
“ The exploitation came to a halt when Mrs. Ezeofor’s temper got the better part of her and she emptied a kettle of hot water on the poor girl, burning her skin in the process.
“A good Nigerian, who wished to remain anonymous, called the police attention to the matter. Both the husband and wife are being interrogated at the Gender Section of Lagos State Police Command.â€
According to the state Police Public Relations Officer, Chike Oti, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, the couple would be charged to court at the end of the investigation by the gender unit.
