Recent photos of 2-month-old baby, Miracle Amatobi, who was maimed by his father, Confidence, for crying and disturbing his sleep, have stirred emotions online.
Miracle had his left hand amputated after sustaining severe injuries from beating he received from his father, who allegedly used a hanger to repeatedly hit the baby on his hand.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the baby was subsequently rushed to the Federal Medical Center, Owerri, where the doctors had no option but to amputate his hand because it was already decaying.
On Thursday, November 3, the first lady of the state, Chioma Uzodinma, visited Miracle and his mum,Favour, at the hospital.
She stated that the police has issued a warrant of arrest for Amatobi so he can face the full wrath of the law.
The 20-year-old mother (Favour) had shared her predicament alongside what led to the amputation of her baby’s hand.
Favour had left her parents in Lagos to Imo to stay with her lover (Confidence) who hails from Amurie Omanze in Isu Local Government Area of Imo state.
According to Favour, she had woken up to ease herself when she heard the shrill cries of her baby who was born two months before.
She narrated: “When I rushed into the house after my baby’s persistent cries, I discovered that his right arm has been fractured. I asked his father what happened and he told me that Miracle was disturbing his sleep and he used a plastic hanger to beat him thereby breaking his arm.
“I requested that we take the baby to the hospital, but he refused. Instead, he used wood and elastic bands to tie the baby’s hand. After some hours, the arm started swelling up.”
She pointed out that as she attempted to leave the room with the baby, Amatobi blocked her and locked both of them in the room.
“He prevented me from talking to neighbours or seeking for assistance. To make sure that I had no contact with the outside world, he took my phone from me. But after two days, I found myself outside and reported to the boys in the neighbourhood. They arrested him but he got loose from their grips and escaped,” she added.
It was gathered that neighbours assisted her to take the baby to the Federal Medical Centre Owerri, and the fractured hand was amputated from the shoulder.
“I am confused. I don’t know what to do. Please I am tired of speaking,” she said.
One of the nurses, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak, said that the baby was brought in a bad condition and the only remedy was to cut off the arm to avoid further damage.
Favour’s father, Chikwe, who was outraged at what happened to his daughter, said: “As I am here, I am supposed to go back to Lagos because my wife broke down when she heard the news of what happened to Favour. I could not go back because of her condition. Since this incident happened, she had been crying and behaving abnormally.
“But I must express my anger at the media. Since the baby was brought here on Tuesday, a lot of them have been here and they assured me that they will not show the face of the mother and the baby in the media because he’s a minor. But they reneged on that promise.
“I have been reading papers and I know in such cases, only the face of the suspect and not the victim is shown. The story has been all over the social media and my family members and friends have been calling me from Lagos and home regarding what happened to Favour.
“As I am talking to you, my wife is in Lagos and she’s also down because of what has happened to Favour. You people disappointed us. None of you came with even diapers for the baby.”
Imo State Coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mrs. Ukachi Ukah, asserted that she had to report the matter to the ministry of women affairs and social development, the police and the state attorney general.
According to her, information gathered revealed that Amatobi and Favour were not legally married.
She said, “We gathered that they are not legally married. They are only co-habiting before he put her in the family way. I have informed the relevant authorities about the situation and we intend to follow up to know their reactions.
“We have told the police to apprehend the culprit for possible prosecution and the attorney general to get ready to take the suspect to court once he’s caught.”
The Imo State Chairperson of National Association of Women Journalists, Dr Dorothy Nnaji, who brought the matter to NHRC, said she’s following up on the matter.
Police Public Relations Officer, CSP, Mike Abattam, asserted that the police are on the trail of the suspect.
“We have mounted a serious manhunt for the suspect and we have also commenced investigation into the matter. We’ll leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the suspect faces the full wrath of the law,” Abattam said.