A surrogate mother, Mrs. Sheri Olanipekun, has burnt the left breast of 10-year-old Tawakalitu Lukman with a pressing iron.
The woman, who is the girl’s aunt, committed the act at 17, Ifeoluwa Street, Osogbo, on Wednesday.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the girl often referred to as Tawa was sent on an errant to buy pepper from a nearby shop. But no sooner had she returned home when some people came to report her that she had stolen their money.
This infuriated Sheri, who plugged a pressing iron after the complainants had gone, and seared Tawa’s left breast with it.
The nipple of Tawa, a primary six pupil, was completely burnt leaving the girl as a result with a big and fatty wound.
Speaking with our correspondent on Thursday, neighbours said the surrogate mother was in the habit of inflicting injuries on Tawa and her own children, Nafisat, Rofia and Kosib.
One of the teachers in Tawa’s school, St. Francis Primary School, Isale Aro, Osogbo, got suspicious on Thursday, when she discovered that the pupil was not active.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the teacher said, “Tawa is a very active pupil; very hard working and cheerful. So, when I saw her pulling her uniform forward from her chest, apparently to prevent the uniform from touching the wound, I became curious.
“I beckoned on her and as she was moving towards me, another pupil, who was sweeping, mistakenly shoved her and her hand touched the wound; she gave a loud yell like an injured animal and almost fainted.
“I rushed at her and grabbed her before she fell. When she pulled her uniform, it was a gory sight to behold. The nipple was gone. The breast had become an awful sight as fats were oozing through the uniform.
“When we saw the situation, we sent for her (Sheri) but she refused to honour our call. We were thus compelled to go to her house and appeal to her to take the girl to a hospital.
“When we got to her house, she became hysteric on seeing us and began to rain abuses on us. She said Tawa is her daughter and she could punish her if she stole.
“This was why we went and report the incident at the Osun State Schools Board, where we were told to go and report the case to the police. We went to the police station and she was subsequently arrested.”
Sheri’s mother-in-law popularly known as Mama Alagbado, who spoke with our correspondent at Orita-Olaiya, blamed the devil for the incident.
“Tawa is a very stubborn child but Sheri shouldn’t have done what she did. Tawa has been living with her since the last two years. My son is an artisan; he was not at home when it happened.”
Sheri’s children, who are younger than Tawa, attend the same school with the 10-year-old girl.
A teacher in the school, who declined to give her name, said one of Sheri’s children also complained that their mother used to inflict injuries on them whenever they erred.
Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Taiwo Oluwagbemileke, said the case was being investigated.
Sheri is being detained at Dugbe Police Station as at the time of filing this report.
Punch Nigeria
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