The
police in Bayelsa State have started investigation into the alleged torture and
death of a seven-year-old boy, Joshua, by his father, Zikeme Ideisy, and
stepmother, Eunice Ideisy.
Joshua
was alleged to have been tortured to death by the duo at their home in Yenagoa,
the state capital.
It was gathered that
Joshua had first been admitted in the children ward of the Federal Medical
Centre, Yenagoa, on Sunday.
He
was said to have sustained multiple injuries all over his body during what
appeared like a routine torture.
The
hospital management was said to have confirmed him dead and referred the case
to the police at the Azikoro division, Yenagoa.
The
two suspects were subsequently whisked away by the policemen, who detained them
for interrogation.
Zikeme
and his wife, Eunice, had taken Joshua from his grandmother, whom he had been
living with since he was a baby.
The
source said they later accused him of being a wizard and started inflicting
injuries on him.
He
said, “The boy was living with his grandmother before the man brought him to
live with them. That was in November 2016.
“When
they brought the child home, he didn’t have any torture mark. It was within a
few weeks that the boy stayed with them that the incident happened. He was
beaten to death by the two of them over allegation that he was into
witchcraft.”
The
FMC’s Public Relations Officer, Ben Akpedi, confirmed that the child was
brought to the hospital.
He
said efforts by the hospital to make the suspects talk were abortive, as they
continued to prevaricate.
He
said, “The boy’s father and a lady, who claimed to be the stepmother, brought
him to the hospital yesterday (Sunday). On a close examination, our doctors
found out that the child had passed on. There were a lot of bruises on him. We
decided to conduct quick investigation and ask them some questions. But
somehow, their answers were phoney.
“When
we asked where they brought the child from, they said they came from across the
bridge. We asked for their house address, they were not specific. We asked for
a telephone number, but the number they gave us didn’t go through. In their
statements, they didn’t say they were the ones that tortured the boy.
“We
decided not to go further. We invited the security agents so that whatever
might have happened to the child could be ascertained.
“The
unfortunate thing is that the couple appeared to be young. Both of them are now
with the police at the Azikoro division.”
The
Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State, ASP Butswat Asinim, confirmed
the incident, saying investigations were ongoing.
He
said, “We have a report about a seven-year-old boy that was admitted for
injuries inflicted by his stepmother. He later died from the injuries. The
stepmother and father have been arrested for their roles. The mother of the
child has also shown up and they are all with the police.”
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