Tempers flared in Ijeshatedo, Surulere, Lagos State, after a woman, Motunrayo Ayadi, reportedly broke the head of her 13-year-old maid, Deborah Matthew, for alleged theft.
Angry residents had surrounded the house of the sexagenarian and were about to set it ablaze when policemen from the Ijesha division, led by the Divisional Police Officer, rescued her.
The suspect was said to have been arrested and detained at the station, while Matthew was rushed to a general hospital for medical attention.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Ayadi and Matthew had been living together at the house for sometime before the woman discovered that her gold jewellery was missing on Saturday.
It was learnt that the suspect queried the teenager about the jewellery and she allegedly owned up, saying she kept the item in an uncompleted building.
A source said when the woman went to the building where the jewellery was kept, she didn’t find it.
“She said the value of the jewellery was about N500,000. When she couldn’t find it, she became angry and descended on the girl. She beat her up with an object till she broke her head. That was what residents saw and they became angry. They wanted to burn down her house. The DPO and his team were on patrol when they came across the scene and rescued her from the mob,” he said.
A Facebook user who posted a graphic video of the victim, however, claimed that she fell from the “second floor” of the house during the assault.
“(She was) thrown from the second floor by her madam; deep lacerations and contours. Terrible! What can be done please? Just tired of this madness,” she wrote.
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, confirmed the incident, adding that the victim was rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.
He said, “It is a case of assault and wounding. The girl was accused of theft and she was assaulted by the guardian. She fell and sustained injuries; we took her to LASUTH where she was X-rayed for internal injuries. She is under observation and the matter is under investigation.”
Famous-Cole, however, denied the report that Matthew was thrown down from the building.
Our correspondent learnt that the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender had already waded into the matter.
The Director of OPD, Mrs. Olubukola Salami, said the government would continue to prosecute cases of child abuse in the state.
She said, “The Lagos State Government has zero tolerance for child abuse. We will not condone it irrespective of the position of who is involved. We urge residents to be vigilant and report all forms of child abuse in their community. We have asked the police to prosecute the case without any delay.”
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