Saturday, June 29, 2024 -A couple has been arrested and handed over to the police over the treatment meted out to their five underage sons in the Osumenyi community, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Mr Uche and
Mrs Peace Mbonu are accused of alleged child abuse, starvation and refusal to
provide necessities for their five underaged boys.
The arrest was carried out by the
security operatives of the Nnewi South LGA before they were handed over to the
police through the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Ify
Obinabo.
This was made known on Saturday, June
29, in a statement by the media aide to the commissioner, Chidimma Ikeanyionwu.
The statement read, "On why they
starved the kids, the couple denied the allegation and stated in their defence
that the kids are always in the habit of eating raw rice, which makes them
infuriated.
"While pleading for pardon, the
couple said that they always feed the kids but that the children prefer eating
raw rice, which they don’t know where they picked up the behaviour from.
"On his part, the oldest of the kids,
Chigbo Mbonu, revealed that Peace Mbonu is his father’s third wife, and ever
since she came into their family, they have faced a lot of untold hardship.
"Chigbo
Mbonu, who is currently 17 years old, said that they feed once a day for the
days their stepmother will give them food but rely on raw rice and palm kernel
after hunger must have greatly dealt with them.
He went ahead to explain that he, at
some point, stopped schooling because he helped his father in his block
industry. He noted that he moulds blocks with four bags of cement on a bad day
and six bags on normal days.
"Further physical examination of
the children by the Women Affairs commissioner showed that they have been
greatly starved and in need of medical care.
"It is important to note that Mr Uche
Mbonu has married two wives before finally settling with the third one Peace
Mbonu, who was his sales girl, and that the kids are all product of his
previous marriages.
"According to the security
operatives who helped in apprehending the culprits, they explained that after
they got the husband, his wife Peace ran to Nnewi, her maternal home to hide
before they eventually apprehended her too."
While reacting to the development,
the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Ify Obinabo, condemned the act and stated
that the state government will continue to ensure that child labour, abuse and
all forms of maltreatment are reduced to the barest minimum.The couple has
since been handed over to the police for further investigation, after which the
matter will be charged to court.
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