Father Brutalised And Abandons Four-year-old Son at bus-stop

The police in Lagos have arrested a man, Sikiru
Mustapha, who allegedly brutalised his four-year-
old son, and abandoned him at a bus station in the
Iwaya area of Yaba.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the boy, identified only
as Lekan, reportedly had scars of the torture on
his body. He was, however, picked up by a
neighbour.
Our correspondent gathered that Lekan was
reportedly handed over to a non-governmental
organisation in the area, which took him to the
Sabo Police Division.
It was gathered that the police subsequently
arrested the father.
A resident of the area, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, told PUNCH Metro that Lekan’s mother
had been sent away by Sikiru, and he had married
a new wife.
She said, “Lekan has a long history of torture from
his father. He is poorly taken care of, beaten and
left to wander in the area. As young as he is, the
father beats him without mercy. On Tuesday, he
was beaten up as usual. But this time, he was
abandoned at a bus station.
“One of the residents of this area found him and
took him to an NGO. He was then taken to the
Sabo Police Division, and the police arrested the
father.
“Sikiru has a new wife who is a nursing mother.
She should have cautioned her husband against
maltreating the boy, but she did not.”
Our correspondent learnt that Lekan was now
recuperating in a hospital in the Surulere area.
When PUNCH Metro visited the hospital on
Wednesday, it was gathered that some officials
from the Lagos State Office of the Public
Defender and the Domestic Sexual Violence
Response Team, to whom Lekan’s torture was also
reported, had visited and taken up the case of the
boy.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer,
DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident. He
added that the suspect had been taken to court.
He said, “We arrested the suspect for maltreating
his son.
“He has been taken to court in company with some
personnel from the Lagos State Ministry of
Justice.”