Days after going into hiding, the female lawyer, Adachukwu Chikelu-Okafor, who allegedly inserted hot knife into the private part of her 10-year-old house girl, has surfaced and is now in detention.
The lawyer, it was gathered, emerged after a bounty of N2 million was placed on her by the federal government.
On Monday, Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs. Ify Obinabo, told journalists in Awka, the state capital, that the Onitsha-based lawyer surrendered herself to the police.
Obinabo said the suspect would be arraigned before the Children, Sexual and Gender Based Violence Magistrate court in Awka this week.
Last week, the federal government declared Adachukwu wanted, placing a two million naira bounty on her.
Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, the minister of women affairs, made the declaration in Abuja.
The video of the naked, burned little girl went viral on social media while
Kennedy-Ohanenye disclosed that the suspect has been evading authorities since the incident.
According to the minister, she has changed her contact information but continues to post on social media, saying no action will be taken against her.
“I decided to keep quiet on the issue of Mrs Adachukwu Chikelu Okafor who burnt the private parts and body of her 10 years old househelp with a hot knife and hot iron in Anambra state. I kept quiet because I thought it would have been solved by now but since it hasn’t, I have decided to wade into the issue.
“Some people wonder why the Women’s Affairs ministry always wades into issues but it is within my purview to get involved in anything that concerns women and children across the nation. So I will not listen anymore but would wade into any issue that concerns women and children across the country….
So I am declaring Adachukwu Kukelu Okafor wanted.”
“Please Nigerians, go out there, search for this woman, bring her out and hand her over to any police station.”
“The Women’s Affairs Ministry is offering Two Million naira (N2 million) to anyone who finds her, hands her over to the police, helps the police in her capture or provides the information to the Women’s Affairs Ministry
“We need the woman urgently because the girl is in pain and in the hospital, it could be your child or relative tomorrow so let’s not fold our hands.”
“In a couple of days, this ministry would make a pronouncement on taking househelp that are less than 18 years, we are going to put a stop to it and need whistleblowers to give us information.Nigeria already has a law against taking underage maids, so we intend to implement it.”
“Nigerians can also come to us and report such cases or cases of people who withhold other people’s wages or money and you would see immediate action.”