After putting the child in the room, she
padlocked it and left for her workplace.
For over two hours on February 17, the little
girl, who turned two on February 15, 2015,
groaned and moaned, until a neighbour heard
the sound and traced it to an unoccupied
room which was padlocked. After
peeping and
seeing the girl in such a condition, the
neighbour quickly alerted the police at Itori
police station. Christiana was promptly
arrested and is currently undergoing
interrogation at the Anti-Human Trafficking
section of the Department of Criminal
Investigation, Ogun State Police Command.
Lovelyn’s mother was reported to have
developed baby blues (mental illness) after
birth and is currently at a psychiatric hospital
where she is undergoing treatment. Crime
Reports learnt that the child’s father, Mr
Christopher William, met Christiana on the
facebook, after which they started a
relationship.
Willam (37), from Abia State who spoke with
Crime Reports, said:
“Christiana posted a notice on facebook
that a single lady from Osun State, a
mother of one, needed a husband. I called
the number and asked that we meet.
“I sent her N5,000 as transport fare to
Lagos State and she came in February
2013. She slept in my place and left the
following day. We lost contact for about
two months. Later, she called me that
she was pregnant and I told her to come
over to Lagos. We went to my mother in
Abia State in June and spent about a
week there.
“In October 2013, I told Christiana to
move in with me until she would deliver
her baby, after which we would go to her
family for marriage formalisation. To my
surprise, she refused, saying that she had
to get the consent of her friend, Dekola
Elizabeth. She later called and said her
friend disagreed with my suggestion.
“When she put to bed on December 5,
2013 and I was informed, I still repeated
my suggestion but she refused. I said we
would hold the naming ceremony when
the baby would be three months
according to my culture but she named
the baby herself on the seventh day.
“All these led to a disagreement for a
while until I called her for settlement
again and I promised to be visiting. In
November 2014, she said she wanted to
see my daughter. Then my daughter,
Lovelyn, was with a care giver whom I
was paying N12,000 per month. She
suggested that she take the little girl to
stay with her along with her son. That
was same November.
“I agreed with the idea and she took my
daughter.
“Any time I went there, the friend would
not allow me to sleep over. She would be
looking at her watch, telling me it was
time to leave. If I desired to have private
discussion with Christiana, she would ask
me to say everything in the presence of
her friend.
“My daughter was two years old on
February 15, so on February 14, I called
her that we should celebrate Valentine’s
Day together so that the following day,
we could mark my daughter’s birthday
but she said no, she had a church
programme. On February 15, I was at
Christiana’s place.
“I noticed that my baby was wearing two
dresses. I removed the dresses and saw
whip marks on my daughter’s body. I
also saw another mark on her face and
noticed that her eyes were bloodshot. On
enquiries, Christiana said my daughter
got the marks from school.
“I called her friend’s attention to it but
her response was ‘That is your business’.
I made up my mind to go with my
daughter but Christiana said she would
put her in her own class in school. I gave
her N5,000 and said I would be back on
Wednesday.
“I was surprised when I received a call on
February 17 from Itori police station.
When I got there, I was shown my
daughter’s picture and I started weeping.
I enquiries on what I did to warrant the
treatment and I was told she said I loved
the girl more than her son.”
Christopher said the lady’s family had been
begging her but said his relationship with her
was over. “If she could do this to my
daughter, it means my life is in danger too.”
Christiana, from Imesi-Ile, Osun State, told
Crime Reports that
“the girl did not offend me but I was not
happy at the way Christopher neglected
me and the baby I had for him, and
concentrated on his daughter.
“I met Christopher on facebook in
December 2012. He told me he had a
child but was single. I also told him I
was a single mother of one. He proposed
a relationship and I went to Lagos State
to see him. When I got pregnant, I went
to his parents in Abia State. On our
return, I asked him to accompany me to
my parents’ but he said he was not
ready to go, telling me to pack into his
house. I refused and he stopped coming
to me.
“After delivery, I called him and he came with
N5,000, diapers and clothes. He did not come
for the naming ceremony; I named the child
myself.“In September, 2014, he called to
apologise and said he would start performing
his responsibility. In October, he said his
daughter’s care giver had travelled and his
relations were using the girl to extort money
from him. He said I should get an
accommodation for him so that he would
move close to me. Christopher started coming
regularly and would bring provisions.
“It is true I beat the girl which left marks
on her. She soiled herself and I was
angry with her. On February 17, she
soiled herself again, so I tied her hands
and legs, tapered her mouth and threw
her inside the room the father paid for,
though yet to move in. I padlocked the
room and left for my workplace at about
7a.m. I just wanted to punish her.”
When asked to describe her action,
Christiana replied: “Wicked”.
Christiana’s friend, Diekola Elizabeth from
Eruwa, Oyo State (27), who was also
arrested, told Crime Reports that
“I didn’t know about what Christiana did
to Lovelyn. I was not a party to it,
though I also beat her once when she
soiled herself.
“It is true that Christopher pointed my
attention to the marks on the child’s
body and said that he wanted to go with
her, but I replied that the choice was his
because it was none of my business.”
Reacting to the story, the police image maker
in Ogun state Police Command, DSP
Olumuyiwa Adejobi, described the suspect’s
act as inhuman.
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