25/10/2022
Father allegedly beats his 2-month-old son with hanger in Imo for disturbing his sleep, breaks the baby's arm leading to amputation.
The National Human Right Commission
(NHRC) and the Nigeria Association of
Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Imo State
chapter have called on the Imo State
Government and the Nigeria Police Force to
immediately arrest and prosecute one Mr
Confidence Amatobi, for allegedly assaulting
his 2-month-old baby, Miracle.
Mr Amatobi was said to have as.. saulted little
Miracle with a plastic hanger and broke the
baby's arm for disturbing his sleep.
The incident led to the amputation of the
fractured arm at the Pediatrics ward of the
Federal Medical Centre, FMC Owerri.
NAWOJ, NHRC and the aggrieved mother
of baby Miracle, made the call for justice in
Owerri the Imo State Capital.
Imo State Chairperson of NAWOJ, Dr Dorothy
Nnaji who spoke to newsmen after visiting
the amputated boy at the Federal Medical
Centre (FMC) Owerri, confirmed that the
injury inflicted by the 31-year-old father, a
native of Amurie in lsu LGA of the state, led to
the amputation of the little boy's right hand.
Mrs Nnaji who frowned at the dastardly cruel
act of Mr Amatobi expressed shock that a
father could assault his innocent child simply
because he was crying and disturbing his
sleep. She disclosed that Mr Amatobi was reported
to have repeatedly hit the baby with a plastic
hanger to stop him from crying until the right
hand broke.
"The perpetrator, Mr. Confidence Amatobi,
who hails from Amurie in Isu L.G.A useda
plastic hanger on the baby, simply because
he was crying that the 20-year-old mother left
to ease herself. He used wood and elastic
bands to tie the baby's hand when he saw
that hand was broken and swollen," Mrs Nnaji
said.
"He locked the mother and baby to prevent
her from talking to neighbours or seeking
help. He also took her phone from her. After
two days she found her way out and sought
help from her neighbours. The guy was
arrested by a vigilante but he escaped. By
the time help came, the baby's hand was
already decayed. The only option was to cut
off baby Miracle's right hand from shoulder"
Narrating her ordeal, the mother of Miracle, Mrs Favour Chikwe, 20, who hails from Idemili Community, Anambra State disclosed that she had left Miracle with his father on Friday, October 7, 2022, to use the convenience, when the incident happened.
Favour recalled that she overheard her baby crying uncontrollably and had to rush back to know the cause of her cry only for her to discover that his right hand was swollen and bone broken from the beating he received from his father.
Upon noticing that he has broken the baby’s hand, he used sticks and rubber bands to bind the broken bones together, she said;
"When l confronted him about what he did, he locked us in the room, to prevent me from telling people about his wicked deed or seek for help. He also collected my phone from me so that I will not call the neighbours."
She narrated how she managed to take the baby to hospitals in the community that refused to treat the baby before she took him to FMC Owerri where the amputation was done.
The woman appealed for support to save her child while calling on the state government, NHRC and other civil society organisations to assist her to get justice for her son.
