been locked up in a cage for the past 30 months by her parents over an alleged witchcraft induced illness. Saturday Sun gathered that the cage that has housed the victim for two and half years is just by the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital in Okolobiri community, Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.
She was rescued from the cage few days ago by the Mary Slessor Twins Foundation.
The group, led by its acting president, Mr Robert Ebitei
Tonye, disclosed that
preliminary investigations revealed that Blessing was
diagnosed with an illness nine years ago which triggered
convulsion.
Findings by Saturday Sun revealed that when Blessing was
taken to the hospital for medical attention nine years ago, the
parents were asked to pay N15, 000 for her treatment. It was
further learnt that the father, who said he could not afford
such medical bill, requested her to be discharged and signed a
form that he was taking her from the hospital against medical
advice.
He was said to have later taken her to different traditional homes for her illness to be cured and when no solution was forthcoming, especially when she defecates and vomits in the house, he decided to construct a cage where she was kept.
Concerned neighbours, who have watched in horror the
maltreatment Blessing was subjected to, alerted the group
known for its campaign against maltreatment of twins in the
state.
The first day the group went to the house to rescue her, Tonye
said some strange occurrences and the blunt refusal of the
father to hand her over, prevented the group from rescuing
her. But on its second mission, they succeeded and
immediately took her to the Okolobiri hospital.
While lamenting the condition of the teenager, Tonye said:
"She was kept like a rabbit. She was given food when it was available and was allowed to sleep in her vomit, feces and urine. She lost weight and could have died".
At the Okolobiri hospital where she is kept, many who visited
her described her parents' action as wicked and callous.
Speaking further on the incident, Tonye said: "The father told
us that the girl has been sick for 13 years and since she
refused to die, she was locked up.
We rescued her and took her to the hospital.
Our pre-occupation is to stabilize her condition before we ensure we press charges against the parents"
Scared that he could be arrested, Saturday Sun gathered that
Olokumo has already gone underground. The mother, Mrs
Olokumo, who now stays with her at the hospital, lamented
that they have spent all their money to get solution to her
problem.
According to her, since they could not get money to get her
proper medical attention, they decided to give up and she
allowed the father to handle it.
Dr Oyedeji Adeyemi of the NDUTH, who is attending to her,
explained that her case is that of seizure disorder which was
not properly treated.
"The case is principally a case of a child having a seizure
disorder in what some people would call epilepsy which in
technical terms is seizure disorder which was not treated
appropriately.
Rather thangive her medical attention, she was kept out of the
house, sort of restricted environment and barely fed which
had over time led to malnutrition", Adeyemi stated.
Some civil society groups have already concluded plans to give all the necessary support to the Mary Slessor Twins Foundation to see that Blessing's parents do not go free for the act of inhumanity to their own child.
Source: Daily Sun
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