TELL Magazine

A female medical doctor and paediatrician with the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), Irrua, Edo State, Chiamaka Ogbonnaya is being held at the State Police Command, Benin City, on allegations of assault and battery against her housemaid simply identified as Comfort. The victim is said to be a Junior Secondary School, JSS 2 student.

Dr. Ogbonnaya was accused of frequent brutalisation of the domestic servant using mopping stick, wooden turner, cane, and any other object within her reach on her, including her ribcage, and would then send her out of the house. It was also alleged that she was fond of giving her little quantity of raw rice as her food for one week.

Confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Chidi Nwabuzor, said “Dr. Ogbonnaya Chiamaka of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital was actually arrested by Irrua Division on the alleged offence of child abuse and battery, and currently the matter is under the investigation of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of investigation; that is SCID, and further development will be made known to the public.”

Reacting to the incident, state Education Commissioner, Dr. Joan Osa Oviawe, said she would respond appropriately once she got the full report of the case.
Warning that there is zero tolerance for child abuse in Edo State, Oviawe posited that “At the Ministry of Education, we take very seriously the social safeguarding of all our pupils and students. There is the Child Rights Law which stipulates all kinds of punishment, including jail term, for adults who abuse children.

According to her, “A child who has been traumatised at home will not be able to learn at school. His Excellency, Gov. Obaseki has given us a mandate to ensure quality and relevant education across all levels of education, and under our EdoBEST 2.0 education reform agenda, psycho-social support for all our learners is a priority.”

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