The police in Bayelsa State have arrested a woman, identified as Esther Otoniye, for allegedly using a hot knife to inflict burns on the buttocks of her 10-year-old stepdaughter.
The little girl’s body was also covered with scars, indicating that she could have been severely beaten by the Otoniye.
But the suspect, who was arrested at her residence in the Akenfa suburb of Yenagoa, the state capital, denied the allegation and accused the minor, a Primary Three pupil, of lying against her.
She also claimed that the burns on the victim’s buttock were caused accidentally by hot water.
But the little girl said Otoniye burnt her with a hot knife for telling a lie.
However, the Commissioner of Police, Ben Okolo, ordered Otoniye’s arrest following complaints against her by some women and child rights groups.
It was learnt that the gender desk at the state police command in charge of the case took the victim to the police clinic for an examination.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Asinim Butswat, said the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.
“It is a case where the stepmother used a hot knife to inflict bodily injuries on a 10-year-old stepdaughter. Investigation is ongoing,” Butswat added.
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