Tragedy struck at 8, Amosu Street, Ijegun, Lagos, on Sunday as a woman identified simply as Iya Anu, allegedly beat her foster son, Seubow, to death for allegedly stealing N50.It was learnt that Iya Anu, a mother of four, usually inflicted injuries on Seubow, her husband’s nephew and her children whenever they erred.
Trouble started when 16-year-old Seubow misplaced a N1, 000 note given to him for an errand on Saturday.
The development, it was learnt, irked Iya Anu who starved the teenager throughout Saturday. When Seubow could no longer bear the hunger, he sneaked out of the house at night to buy Gala.
When Iya Anu knew about it, our correspondent learnt that she became furious, accused him of stealing her N50 and gave the teenager the beating of his life.
A neighbour who identified herself simply as Balikis said the accused must have used a hot object to batter the boy as his body was full of burns.
She said, “Iya Anu began to beat him on Saturday night. The beating continued till about 9am on Sunday when her husband and the other children had left for church.
“She battered him till he gave up the ghost about noon. When she realised that the boy had lost consciousness, she cried for help but it was already late. At a point, she wanted to run away but she was promptly rounded up.”
Another resident, Modinatu, said Iya Anu, had in June battered the boy resulting in her being invited to the Isheri-Oshun Police Division for questioning.
She said, “Seubow joined them in December 2011 and this woman has made life so unbearable for him just the way she does to her children too. In June, the boy was battered to the extent that she was quizzed by the police.
“Also, she has in the name of discipline used a knife to injure her first daughter, Anu, on her shoulders over issues bordering on misdemeanour.
“She is so violent that she even fights neighbours with objects at the slightest provocation. She was sent packing from her former place of residence on Jimoh Aigbe Street, which is just some few streets away from here when she injured her landlady with a knife.”
Corroborating Modinatu’s claims, Alexander Akinnurun, the Proprietor of Alex Group of Schools, Ijegun, the school Seubow attended before his death, described her as a troublemaker.
He said, “She has been perpetrating those acts for quite some time now and reports of her heinous deeds abound. In June, Seubow who happened to be one of my pupils came to school with a disfigured face and wounds on his body.
“I was so moved by this that I reported the incident to the police. I don’t know how far the police went with the matter but I never expected that such an ugly incident would still repeat itself.”
When our correspondent visited the area on Monday, it was learnt that she had been arrested by the police.
It was also learnt Iya Anu was a serial divorcee and is at present with her third husband.
When contacted on the phone, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Ngozi Braide, said she could not reach the Divisional Police Officer of Isheri Oshun.
“I can’t independently confirm the incident for now as the phone number of the DPO of the station is not available. I will get back to you as soon as I get through to him,” she said.
From CKNnigeria
