A 12-year-old Joel Sunday, who was employed together with his sister Naomi by Mrs Omoyemi Opeyemi as servants, was a true reflection of the agony some vulnerable children were subjected to by their mistresses.
Despite the fact that the law of the land prohibits any act of violence against children, some states including Ondo State signed a law against gender based violence,. This however has not prevented some unscrupulous elements from exploiting the vulnerability of the less privilege in the society.
It is sad to know that a woman who should understands the pains and joy of motherhood could visit another person’s child with such cruelty. Cases like that of Joel Sunday tend to be very frequent in Nigeria. Most times, we wake up to new gory stories of how maids have been maltreated and sometimes killed by their guardians. Parents who have no other option of how to cater for the family give out their children to become maids for average and wealthy families and Joel Sunday’s case was not different.
When The Newspaper visited the hospital along with staff of the State Ministry of Women Affairs and members of Ondo State Agency Against Gender Based Violence (OSAA-GBV), the sight of the poor boy, Joel Sunday, on the hospital bed passing through excruciating pains due to the injury he sustained in the hands of his 36 years old mistress could melt the heart of most hardened of men. The boy, whose body was bandaged could be seen trying to adjust to the fate that befell him since he had no option.
If not for the help of a Good Samaritan, Mrs Alice Ayeidun, probably, Joel Sunday would have been dead by now. While speaking with The Hope on how the boy was rescued on February 6, 2022, at Idimango Adebowale, off Ondo Road, in Akure, Mrs Aiyedun, a community health worker said: “ I was going to church when I saw the boy crying in pain as Mrs Opeyemi was commanding him to use the bucket of water beside him to wash the blood in his body.
“I was touched when the boy was telling the woman that he could no longer wash his body again because he was becoming tired. I asked the woman how the boy got injured. She told me it was roofing sheets that cut his body and that the boy stole meat from her pot.
“As I was listening to her, I became worried and scared because the blood gushing out of the boy’s body was much. It was then I saw the razor blade she used in inflicting injuries on the little boy. I picked it up and pleaded with the woman to allow me treat the boy. She agreed and I carried the boy in my car.
“As I was going, I realized that the blood was still rushing out from the boy’s body and my car had been stained, I was gripped with fear that if the boy should die, I might be in for trouble. I quickly ran to Fanibi police station and reported the case to the officers there. They immediately directed me to police clinic with a police escort where I paid for admission card and other necessary things before they commenced treatment on him.
“I did a video recording of the boy’s situation then as an evidence, but I didn’t know how it went viral. As we speak, some people are pointing accusing fingers at me that I reported the perpetrator to the law enforcement agency. All my efforts to explain to them that I didn’t reporte the case to the police intentionally proved abortive.
One of the members of Ondo State Agency Against Gender Based Violence (OSAA-GBV), Mrs Yemi Agbede, who was among those who visited the boy in the hospital revealed to THE HOPE that she was called by the state First Lady, Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, about the case of Joel Sunday, who was brutally treated with a marching order to get to the root of the mater.
“OSAA-GBV and Ministry of Women Affairs in the State swung into action. “The boy is currently receiving treatment and we hope he gets better. We have been able to provide a care giver for the boy through the Ministry of Women Affairs and we are ready to pursue the case to a reasonable conclusion.
The State Secretary of OSAA-GBV, Mrs. Bola Joel Ogundadegbe, explained that the major reason for setting up OSAA-GBV was to ensure reduction in gender based violence across the state.
Her words: “Reducing violence against persons was the major reason OSSA-GBV was set up. We have a law that prohibits any form of violence against persons in the State. Since we are the agency in charge of this law, we are here to monitor the case and ensure that judgement is served as a deterrence to others.
“We want to commend the woman who rescued the boy, if not for her timely intervention, the story would have been different. The woman who assaulted the boy pleaded guilty to the four-count charges. The case has been adjourned and we are ready to follow it up to a logical end for residents of the State to know that we have zero tolerance for gender violence,” she said.
A concerned parent, Mr Kehinde Adefemi, who pleaded with the State government to adopt Joel Sunday and his sister, Naomi for proper upbringing added that the perpetrator, Mrs Opeyemi, should be made to face the full wrath of the law so that others like her would learn treat other people’s children well.