The Federal Capital Territory, Police Commissioner, Adewale Ajao, has directed the immediate arrest of a woman who allegedly starved and physically abused a 14-year-old girl in Abuja.
The FCT Police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, revealed this to The PUNCH, adding that the Divisional Police Officers in the command had been directed to locate and arrest the woman responsible for the abuse.
“Although the incident was not initially reported to the police, the Commissioner of Police, Adewale Ajao, has directed all Divisional Police Officers within the FCT to urgently identify and arrest the woman involved.
“The CP strongly condemns any act of child abuse. He emphasises that anyone who knows they are not capable of properly caring for a child should refrain from taking on such responsibility. No child should be made to suffer such cruelty.”
The arrest order was sequel to a disturbing video online showing the girl, named Bashariya, narrating her ordeal in Hausa.
Bashariya, who is an indigene of Zamfara State, was taken to Abuja after her parents fled their hometown due to incessant bandit attacks.
They sought refuge in an Internally Displaced Persons camp in the Gwiwa Eka area.
She said she was hired as a maid and taken to Abuja with the promise for a better life, adding that instead she was starved, beaten, and even burnt as a form of punishment.
Bashariya had bruises and burn marks on various parts of her body, prompting public outrage and calls for justice on social media.
