Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force, Ovwian Division, Delta State, have arrested one Mrs David Onovughe, for using hot knives to mutilate the bodies of her two sons.
The incident occurred last weekend in Onwian in the Udu Local Government Area of the state.
Mrs Onovughe, under the instruction of her husband, Mr David Onovughe, allegedly used hot knives from a burning stove on their two sons: nine-year-old Goodnews, and 12-year-old brother, Anointing.
The two boys were said to have spent the money they were given by a neighbour to help her buy cigarettes on victuals to quench their hunger.
The female neighbour of the Onovughes was said to have been the one who sent Goodnews on an errand to buy cigarettes for her with N1,050.
The neighbour, on realising that her money had been wrongly channelled, then reported the 9-year-old boy to his mother who also relayed the wrongdoing to their father who then instructed their mother to teach them a lesson with a hot knife.
The boys’ father, Mr Onovughe, reportedly questioned nine-year-old Goodnews amid severe torture, and, Goodnews, in his forced confession, mentioned Anointing, the 12-year-old brother, as his conspirator in spending the money.
Onovughe reportedly flogged the two sons and instructed his wife to place a kitchen knife on a burning stove and use the red-hot knife on their buttocks, backs, and jaws.
A human rights activist, Derrick Oritsematosan Agberen, who got a wind of the child abuse, said while Mr Onovughe is on the run, his wife has been arrested by police operatives.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ovwian Division, CSP Aliyu Shaba, was said to have promptly arrested Mrs Onovughe, as they are on a manhunt for fleeing Onovughe.
Denouncing the action of the parents, Agberen said, “it is high time parents realise that flogging/torturing, inputting peppery substances into the private parts of their children (dehumanisation), and other forms of corporal punishment, are aged-long traditions in Nigeria.
“Society may not be responsible for how you fend for your family but are very much interested in the amount of discipline and treatment you give to them. The society, churches, government parastatal and other social groups should play major roles in enlightening parents and wards on how to enforce discipline in the right manner as the effect of enforcing negative punishment on children can result in a lot, now and in the future,” he added.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Delta Police Command, DSP Bright Edafe, was yet to respond to the incident before filing the report.