34-year-old man, Elekele Messiah, has been arrested for inflicting life-threatening injuries with a knife on his nine-year-old son, Promise Messiah, for eating all the soup in a pot at home in the Edepie area of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Residents said neighbours beat the man to a pulp before he was rescued by a naval officer who later handed him over to the police after which members of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) in the state, led by Demo Pamosoo, were contacted to take legal action against the man.
It was further gathered that the man, an indigene of Okodi village in Ogbia LGA, took custody of the son from his wife in 2019 with a promise to provide better education for him in the state capital.
According to Daily Trust, a neighbour, who pleaded anonymity, said that instead of providing the child with proper education and good living conditions, the father often maltreated the boy, adding that, “Most nights, he leaves the son to sleep on the street whenever he comes home with a woman. The boy is most times left without food for days. It is the neighbours who most times give him something to eat.
“On that fateful day, some neighbours saw a deep cut on Promise’s chest and inquired from the father, but to their surprise, the father said he made razor blade cuts on the son’s chest because the boy stole soup.”
FIDA’s Demoosoo, who confirmed the incident said that when they were contacted on the plight and situation of the victim, they took action immediately by giving him medical treatment before reporting the matter to law enforcement agents.
The state police spokesman, SP Asinim Butswat, said the father has been taken into police custody.
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