A Lagos couple Busola Oyediran and Akebiara Emmanuel, have been arraigned before the Magistrates Court in Ogba for allegedly torturing and assaulting their two children, (names withheld) aged five and two years old respectively.
The couple was arraigned by the state on a four-count charge of felony to cause grievous harm, unlawful infliction of injuries on a minor, unlawful and indecent treatment of a child, and unlawful assault using horsewhips, cane, and belt.
The defendants, who allegedly committed the offences in the Egbeda/Idimu area of the state where they reside, were docked before Chief Magistrate (Mrs) Bola Osunsami.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge and were granted bail in the sum of N500,000 each.
Chief Magistrate Osunsanmi also ordered that the duplicate case file should be sent to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.
She then adjourned the matter till March 27.
The Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) said in a statement signed by its Head of Public Affairs, Mrs Adejoke Ladenegan-Oginni, that the children have been taken into protective custody presently and this was facilitated by the Ministry of Youth and Social Development.
DSVA’s Executive Secretary, Mrs Titilola Vivour Adeniyi, also said it took the intervention of a mandated reporter who ensured the case was brought to the attention of the relevant authorities, including the police at Idimu Divisional Police Station, who immediately arrested the couple.
She said it was alleged that the suspects have been maltreating the two children by beating them with belts, canes, and horse whips.
Mrs Vivour-Adeniyi reiterated the state government’s zero tolerance to all forms of child abuse, domestic and sexual violence, and assured of the agency’s unrelenting resolve in upholding the tenets of safeguarding and child protection in the state.
The statement encouraged residents not to hesitate to report all issues bordering on domestic and sexual violence by calling the DSVA Toll Free line – 08000-333-333, accessible any time any day stressing, “a crime to one is a crime to all”.