Police rescue girl ‘locked up by her aunt’ for weeks without food

The Plateau police command has rescued a 17-year-old girl reportedly locked up by her aunt for weeks without food in Jos, the state capital.

The girl, according to Grace Pam, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) coordinator in Plateau, was rescued in the Rikkos area of Jos North LGA.

Pam said the victim was brought to live with her aunt after her grandmother, who was taking care of her, became sick.

“The commission received information from an anonymous complainant that the girl was locked up on the balcony of a house by her aunt,” she said.

“She was living with her grandmother before she came to the aunt’s house, because the grandmother was ill and could not continue to care for her. The complainant alleged that the aunt travelled for close to a week and left the girl without food.

“Investigation revealed that the girl was truly malnourished and had scars on her hands, neck, and other parts of her body. The marks resulted from incessant beatings she received from her aunt.

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“The matter was reported to the police where the aunt’s statement was taken upon return from her trip. The girl has been provided with temporary shelter until she recovers.

“We also found out that the orphan girl was never allowed to go out, but was locked up in the house and not fed. She has been taken to hospital by one of our partners to ensure proper medical care.”

The NHCR coordinator expressed concern over the recent surge in cases of assault against minors, adding that “as we speak, there is a case of another victim, a nine-year-old girl, who came to stay with her aunt barely two months ago”.

“We had to rescue her on Thursday from her aunt; she beat her mercilessly, but thank God, she did not get her blind but got her injured in the eye,” she added.

“We took her to the hospital on Friday with scars resulting from serious beating. When our staff went there, she was locked up in a zinc house where the aunt keeps her goats.