Woman bathes 12-year-old girl with hot water in Cross River

A 12 -year-old girl (name withheld) was bathed with a mixture of hot water and oil by her aunt, one Christiana Nfon Ipkebe, over missing N500 in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State.
   
A source from the neighbourhood told revealed that her aunt, who is presently at large, poured the hot substance on her, because of a missing N500 out of the N7,550 worth of yams sold.
 
According to the source, a teacher from the girl’s school noticed that she had been absent from school for days and decided to check on her, but found her covered with burns on her upper body.
   
Meanwhile, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Basic Rights Counsel Initiative (BRCI), has taken over the matter after they got information through the Akamkpa Child Protection Network.
 
Counsel to the NGO, who is also the Chairperson, Cross River State Child Protection Network, James Ibor, confirmed that the incident happened on March 3, 2022 and that the police have not been able to arrest her, because she absconded when she got information that the police were coming for her.
 
He said: “On March 3, 2022, in Akamkpa Local Council of Cross River State, the perpetrator (her aunty) prepared a mixture of hot water and oil, then bathed the unsuspecting innocent little girl with the hot mixture, which resulted in a second degree burn.
“BRCI has commenced treatment for the child and is currently mobilising support to raise the sum of N945,000 for further treatment and care for the survivor.”
 
Contacted, the State Command Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent of Police (SP), Irene Ugbo, said she was not aware of the case, but a source in the Akamkpa Police station said Ikpebe is still on the run.