Police launch manhunt for suspected abuser of maid in Abuja

The Police commissioner for the Federal Capital Territory, Adewale Ajao, has ordered the prompt arrest of a woman who has reportedly been abusing and starving a 14-year-old girl who was placed to work as a maid in Abuja.

The police have taken action following the widely-circulated video that surfaced online showing the girl, who was identified as Bashariya, narrating her experience in Hausa.

In the video, Bashariya reported that she is from Zamfara State. Her parents had fled their community due to repeated attacks from bandits and had moved to the Gwiwa Eka IDP camp. In search of a better life, the young girl was brought to Abuja to be a domestic worker. However, the frightened girl revealed she was often deprived of food, beaten and burned. Lashes and burn scars were noticeable throughout her body in the video.

The spokesperson for the FCT Police command, SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the CP has ordered to locate and arrest the woman responsible for the abuse.

“Although the incident was not initially reported to the police, the Commissioner of Police, Adewale Ajao, has directed all Divisional Police Officers within the FCT to urgently identify and arrest the woman involved,” Adeh stated.

“The CP strongly condemns any act of child abuse. He emphasises that anyone who knows they are not capable of properly caring for a child should refrain from taking on such responsibility. No child should be made to suffer such cruelty,” Adeh emphasized.