A doctor who was on call months ago has recounted the case of a 12-year-old girl who was brought into an emergency paediatric unit by a middle-aged female police officer with a severe burn on her index finger sustained ten days earlier.
The girl’s parents live in a village, and she had been sent to stay with another family in town. That family accused her of stealing ₦500 and subjected her to a form of punishment that left her finger burned and deformed. She was also forced to continue performing household chores without proper wound care even as the injury worsened. Neighbours eventually intervened, rescued her and alerted the police.
It was later established that one of the family members, who confessed to the police, had taken the money and not the girl.
The doctor noted that the incident left a lasting impression, observing that the child will grow up with a deformed finger as a constant reminder of the abuse she suffered at the hands of the adults responsible for her care.
