Police in Lagos say they have arrested a woman, Onyinye Mbadike, who appeared in a viral video assaulting a boy, Chibike Eziamaka, whom she kept in a dog kennel.
A statement on Thursday by Lagos police spokesman, Bala Elkana, said the 24-year-old woman was traced to Chumpe Liquor Store, Surulere and arrested on Wednesday at her residence at 7 Trimnell Street, Aguda.
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The statement said Eziamaka, 10, was rescued and taken to a secured shelter.
Police said Mbadike admitted she was the one in the video but denied locking the boy in a cage with dogs.
According to the police, the suspect said she only locked him in an empty dog kennel where bags are kept.
“She claimed to have locked up the boy for few hours before bringing him out. She alleged that the boy took a hot drink in their refrigerator and was misbehaving. That the suspect smashed the side mirror of her Toyota Camry with stone which made her to detain him in the dog kennel.
“Investigation revealed that the survivor lost his parents and was brought to Lagos in 2012 from Anambra State by the Mother of the Suspect along with his two siblings. The suspect and the survivor are cousins. The suspect’s mother is the elder sister of the survivor’s father,” the statement said.
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Mr Elkana also said the woman would be prosecuted.
The video had drawn widespread condemnation from child rights movements, human rights activists among others.
