The female staff of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mrs. Yemi Awolola, who was last week arrested for alleged child torture and sexual abuse in Kaduna, has been remanded in prison.
This came as Senior Magistrate Court 3, where Mrs. Awolola was charged for child torture, on Monday adjourned her case till August 27, 2020 for hearing.
Chief Magistrate Bashir Shitu Yusuf, who presided over the case with court registration number: KMD/204XB/2020, had earlier denied the accused bail filed.
Mrs. Awolola was charged before the Court alongside her daughter and a house help, both of whom are minors of about 15 years of age.
The staff of NNPC group in Kaduna, was arrested on Monday, July 6, for allegedly applying hot object on the genitals area of one 14-year-old house help, Princess Michael, over alleged stealing and hiding of food items in her house, an offence that contradicted Kaduna State Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law 2018.
Fielding questions from the newsmen outside court room, the immediate past Chairperson, International Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA) who is the complainant, Barrister Bukola Ajao, said, the accused has pleaded guilty to the allegation leveled against her, hence, the decision of the court to adjourn the case till August 27.
Giving the background to the case she said, “I got a call from a colleague, one Barrister Toyin on July 9, that a girl of 14-year-old, one Princess Michael was on admission at Harmony Hospital, Narayi, Kaduna, with series of burn all over her body.
“So, I went there immediately. But, there was someone from another NGO called GIWAC, Uziah on ground before my arrival at the hospital.
“We interviewed the girl and she narrated her ordeal. We then agreed to switch into action the following morning and she was invited to Barnawa Police Station from where we are where we are now,” she said.
Father of the girl, Michael Augustine, shared how her daughter became house help in the house of Mrs. Awolola who had promised to enroll her in school as a result of unrest in his community.
“It all started when some gunmen in April, 2019, attacked our village, Kutura station, Kajuru local government area of Kaduna State where my elder brother and his son were gruesomely murdered,” he said.
The father of four, where patience was second, said that development made him send his daughter to stay with her younger sister, Esther Moses, Danfulani, a mother of two who coincidentally lost her husband to gunmen in another attack in Kajuru Station in the same local government area in September 2019.
According to Esther, who was also present in court, “we enquired about the woman before we allow the girl to go and stay with her. People said she was a nice woman and that cleared our doubt about the safety of the girl. We were so happy that the girl will continue her education under the care of her master. We are sad that, what started peacefully has brought us this far”, she said in tears.
Meanwhile, wife of the Kaduna State Governor, Hajiya Ummi El-Rufai, who came to witness the proceding in court, commended the decision of the Magistrate court saying, issue of child abuse would not be tolerated in Kaduna state.