The girl’s hands were boiled terribly, and many are
raising concern that one of them might have become utterly useless. Esther, it
was gathered, lost her own mum about a year ago a few days after her first
birthday. The poor little girl has since been living with her father, known
among residents of the area as Baba Eleja. Baba Eleja, Esther’s dad, later
brought in Kehinde, a mother of three, as his wife. He put Esther in the care
of his new wife, Kehinde.
Little Esther’s predicament was unveiled when Kehinde
was not feeling good and invited a nurse to prescribe drugs
for her. It was the nurse that noticed Esther’s boiled hands. The nurse also
realised that the little girl was very unhealthy. She sought to know what was
responsible for the little girl’s condition and Kehinde allegedly explained
that the girl mistakenly put her hands inside a bucket of hot water in the
room. Obviously not satisfied with that explanation, the nurse went to inform
Kehinde’s neighbours about the strange incident.
Many of the neighbours, who had all along suspected
that all was not well with little Esther as Kehinde was always beating her,
rushed to the room to see the girl. One of the neighbours, who described
himself as her father’s kinsman, spoke to the reporter. His words: “When we saw
Esther, lying on the floor with her boiled hands, we were moved to tears. We
feared that the poor girl might die any moment from then.
We quickly made efforts to rush her to the hospital for treatment. I don’t think Esther was the one that dipped her own hands in the hot water. In fact, if you see that damage done on those hands, you would know that somebody must have dipped those hands in some boiling water. The hands were boiled to the wrist. Even that poor girl wouldn’t be able to use one of the hands again.
We quickly made efforts to rush her to the hospital for treatment. I don’t think Esther was the one that dipped her own hands in the hot water. In fact, if you see that damage done on those hands, you would know that somebody must have dipped those hands in some boiling water. The hands were boiled to the wrist. Even that poor girl wouldn’t be able to use one of the hands again.
Earlier today, when the girl saw her stepmother, she was so terrified
that she cried and ran away. That shows she (Kehinde) has been wicked to her. I
advise the relatives of the girl’s mother to take her away from her father so
that something more terrible than this doesn’t happen to her,” she told the
reporter.
Journalists mobbed the resident and demanded to know what happened,
although some relatives tried to restrict them from the scene, claiming it’s a
family issue, they were later allowed to interview Kehinde.
In
the interview, Kehinde told her story. “That morning, I noticed that Esther
was looking very dull. So, I asked her to come to me and I gave her a potty for
her to urinate into. I discovered that the urine was black, which showed that
she was sick. So, I didn’t allow her to go to school. That day, I was also
bleeding because I just had a miscarriage. After a while, I kept a bowl of very
hot water that I wanted to use on myself beside our bed and rushed out to the
kitchen. Suddenly, I heard Esther’s piercing cry and I rushed back into the
room only to see her struggling with the bowl of hot water.
By the time I could rescue her, she already boiled her two hands. I thought she wanted to drink water because she was eating the rice that I cooked for her and my own children before I left the room. I quickly went to borrow N100 from a neighbour with which I bought some balm that I applied on the hands. I also gave her some drugs for her fever and she soon slept off. “When her father returned from work in the night and noticed what happened to her, he beat the hell out of me, in spite of my condition. It took the intervention of our landlord before he left me.
Since then, Esther has been staying with me at home. She has not been going to school and I’ve been doing my best to treat her. But a few days ago, I invited a nurse, who is also a neighbour to attend to me. As a result of the miscarriage, I have been feeling very weak and I have lost a lot of blood. The nurse came and I was lying on the bed. Esther was resting on a mattress close to the bed.
The nurse came to attend to me but when she saw Esther, she looked worried and asked what happened to her. When I explained, she asked why we didn’t take her to hospital yet and I said I didn’t have the money and that I was expecting that Esther’s father would do that. “The nurse promptly attended to me and hurriedly left after examining Esther’s boiled hands for two or three times. It wasn’t long after she left that a crowd of neighbours broke into our room to see Esther.
They soon pounced on me and started beating me. It took the intervention of policemen, who were invited by some of them, to rescue me from the mob. I would have been lynched. They thought that I deliberately dipped her hands into boiling water. I didn’t do that at all. I have always been taking care of Esther as if I were her mother. Even people call me Mama Esther because of the way I treat her. I couldn’t have done such a terrible thing to her,” she said.
By the time I could rescue her, she already boiled her two hands. I thought she wanted to drink water because she was eating the rice that I cooked for her and my own children before I left the room. I quickly went to borrow N100 from a neighbour with which I bought some balm that I applied on the hands. I also gave her some drugs for her fever and she soon slept off. “When her father returned from work in the night and noticed what happened to her, he beat the hell out of me, in spite of my condition. It took the intervention of our landlord before he left me.
Since then, Esther has been staying with me at home. She has not been going to school and I’ve been doing my best to treat her. But a few days ago, I invited a nurse, who is also a neighbour to attend to me. As a result of the miscarriage, I have been feeling very weak and I have lost a lot of blood. The nurse came and I was lying on the bed. Esther was resting on a mattress close to the bed.
The nurse came to attend to me but when she saw Esther, she looked worried and asked what happened to her. When I explained, she asked why we didn’t take her to hospital yet and I said I didn’t have the money and that I was expecting that Esther’s father would do that. “The nurse promptly attended to me and hurriedly left after examining Esther’s boiled hands for two or three times. It wasn’t long after she left that a crowd of neighbours broke into our room to see Esther.
They soon pounced on me and started beating me. It took the intervention of policemen, who were invited by some of them, to rescue me from the mob. I would have been lynched. They thought that I deliberately dipped her hands into boiling water. I didn’t do that at all. I have always been taking care of Esther as if I were her mother. Even people call me Mama Esther because of the way I treat her. I couldn’t have done such a terrible thing to her,” she said.
