In this third part of the investigation on 10-year-old Kosarachi, who was trafficked into domestic servitude by her maternal aunt in connivance with her supposed biological mother, leading to her sustaining bodily harm inflicted by her madam, Ifeoma Okoye, JULIANA FRANCIS look at the efforts Child Rights Advocates in Lagos State have been making to ensure justice.
Moments after the reporter ended the phone call with Barrister Ahamefule Chiemezie Nwadike Peter, lawyer to Christ Holy Church International, she received information from a source that parties in Kosarachi’s physical abuse case and the paternity dispute would be meeting at the office of the Divisional Police Officer in Charge of Festac on November 6, 2024 at 10am.
It was further alleged that the DPO was planning to hand Kosarachi over to her supposed biological mother, Mrs. Chikodi, and her maternal aunt, Gift, without carrying out a DNA. The reporter tried to verify the allegation by contacting the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer and a Superintendent of Police, Benjamin Hundeyin. He is saddled with the responsibility of speaking for personnel working in Lagos State Police Command.
The reporter reached out to Hundeyin on November 2, 2024, explaining the case and allegations against the DPO.
The police spokesman in Lagos promised to get across to the DPO to find out the facts of the case and then get back to the reporter.
However, by November 3, Hundeyin had yet to get back to the reporter and several calls the reporter made to his two phone lines were not answered. The reporter also sent SMS and WhatsApp messages, but the PPRO still did not reply. Towards nightfall, the reporter ran with the news story and all hell was let loose.
Below is the reproduction of the news report
Lagos DPO accused of acting as jury, judge over child trafficking, paternity cases
Juliana Francis
Members of the Advocate for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network have accused the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Festac Division of acting as jury and judge over child trafficking and paternity cases without carrying out a proper investigation.
The child in question is a 10-year-old girl identified as Kosarachi, alleged to have been given out as maid to Ifeoma Okoye, residing in Festac.
Okoye, who is now on the run, is alleged to be fond of beating her maid, who is a minor, leaving scars on her head and body.
The scarred body of the child was discovered during a church service at the Christ Holy Church International, located in Festac, Lagos State, by a member. The fleeing Okoye, who is a member of the church, was at the worship centre on that fateful day with Kosarachi.
A video, which captured the injuries on the child went viral, leading to many child protection organisations expressing anger and demanding justice for the child.
Among these organisations are Religious Sisters of Charity, ACVPN (comprising several organisations), Justice Development and Peace Centre (JDPC), Rights and Welfare of Traumatised Wives and Youths Initiative (RAWTWAYI), International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency(DSVA), to mention but a few.
It was in the course of probing the case of physical abuse of the child, that another case of the child likely trafficked from the eastern part of Nigeria to Lagos State, came into question. Also, two couples are currently squabbling over the paternity of the child, both claiming to be her parents.
Child rights activists are insisting that aside from the Nigeria Police tracking and arresting Okoye to face the wrath of the law, the paternity of the child should be determined through Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
However, sources alleged that the DPO has concluded plans to hand the child over to one of the couples by Wednesday morning without carrying out DNA.
This planned action is not going down well with some nongovernmental organisations involved in child protection.
Section 57 of the Child Rights Law of Lagos State empowers the court to order the use of scientific tests including blood tests and DNA where paternity is an issue.
Also, Section 28 of the law is Child Labour and Prohibition of exploitative labour.
The Child’s Rights Act in Nigeria prohibits physical, mental, or emotional abuse, neglect, and maltreatment of children. In Lagos State, the policy prohibits corporal punishment in public and private schools.
Our reporter on November 2, 2024, reached out to the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, to find out from the police the facts of the case and if truly the DPO planned to hand over the child to one of the couples without DNA to determine paternity.
He promised to reach out to the DPO and get back to the reporter. He, however, did not.
On November 3, 2024, our reporter called Hundeyin several times, but his phone line was constantly busy.
The last call, which was at past 5pm, rang out.
The reporter also sent WhatsApp and SMS messages to the PPRO’s two phone lines, but he still did not respond.
Ahaemefule Chimezie Nwadike Peter, a lawyer to Christ Holy Church International, has invited this reporter to be at Festac Police Station on Wednesday by 10am so that she would be able to get more facts about the case.
The following morning, the reporter was inundated with phone calls from different people in reaction to the news report. One of the calls was from an unknown number, who True Caller displayed as Chief Ernest Onyeze.
He expressed displeasure over the report, stressing that the reporter did not get to hear the DPO’s side of the story. According to Onyeze, the DPO had been receiving calls from the Force Headquarters in Abuja over the report. The reporter explained that she called the PPRO concerning the report as that was the professional route to take. The caller also pleaded that the report should be pulled down. He urged the reporter to come on November 6, 2024 to Festac Police Station to get all sides of the story from all the parties. When the reporter asked him if he was a lawyer to the DPO, he said no, describing himself as “a private investigator interested in issues that had to do with human trafficking”.
One of the callers was also Barrister Ahamefule Chiemezie Nwadike Peter of Christ Holy Church International. Peter accused the journalist of being sponsored by Religious Sisters of Charity, a nongovernmental organisation that has been at the forefront of seeking justice for Kosarachi, represented by Reverend Sister Justina Suekime Nelson. Ironically, Nelson, whom Barrister Peter said sponsored the reporter to publish the story, was also not too pleased with it.
Just as the reporter was receiving phone calls, her Managing Editor, Dotun Oladipo, was also receiving phone calls. After the reporter and the Oladipo brainstormed over the incessant phone calls, it was agreed that since the reporter had been invited to Festac Police on November 6 to speak with parties involved in the case and to hear their stories, it was better to pull down the report, get stories of all parties and then republish.
They would later fail to honour the agreement. The reporter’s yearning to speak with all parties did not materialise. The reporter was at Festac Police Station on Wednesday at the agreed time, but Barrister Peter, Chief Ernest Onyeze and DPO were not. The DPO was said to have gone to Police Command, Ikeja for the Commissioner of Police briefing. The reporter left the station some minutes before 1pm.
It was also that Wednesday that the Festac Police Station officially transferred the case to the Gender Unit, Lagos State Police Command, which is the highest body in the Command saddled with the responsibility of investigating not just sex and gender-based violence, but also issues relating to maltreatment of young people.
Religious Sisters of Charity
Some of the functions of the Religious Sisters of Charity are raising awareness about human trafficking and educating people on irregular migration. Similarly, the organisation collaborates with other agencies in rescuing children or adults who have been trafficked and empowering them with skills to prevent them from being further trafficked.
The organisation’s representative in Lagos State, Reverend Sister Justina Nelson, has tenaciously been following up on the case of Kosarachi, with the end goal of ensuring that she will not be trafficked again and also cause Ifeoma Okoye, the madam of 10-year-old Kosarachi, who inflicted bodily harm on her, to be prosecuted.
How we got involved in Kosarachi’s case — RSC
Nelson narrated to the reporter how the RSC got involved in Kosarachi’s case. According to her, sometime in September 2024, a child protection advocate, working with the Justice Development and Peace Commission, reached out to her about the case of 10-year-old Kosarachi.
Nelson recollected: “The child has been brutalised from head to toe. The person who called our organisation knew our focus because her organisation used to collaborate with us. When she told us about the child’s ordeal, I asked for evidence, and she sent me a video.
“In the video, the child’s wounds were being treated by a woman, who I presumed to be a nurse, and in the process of the treatment, the nurse asked her a series of questions. The video would later go viral.
“I was touched by the plight of this girl. We decided that something needed to be done. I had to alert those we work with, like ACVPN, Child Protection Network, and others to know about this case. The child also mentioned that she was from Odufor in Rivers State.
“I sent the video to the Director of the Child Protection Network of Rivers State to help me trace the family of this child. I knew that the Child Protection Network has branches in local government areas.
“With that, the video went to the councillor of the Odufor area, one Mr Chibuzor. The girl’s supposed parents got to know about the case and showed up to claim the child. We also interviewed the nurse, who said that she wanted to remain anonymous.
“However, she told us that the girl was treated and sent home to her ‘parents.’ She was treated and sent home to her family in Owerri in Imo State. I asked myself what was the connection between Owerri in Imo State and the child’s words that she came from Odufor in Rivers State.
“Does this mean that the family left Odufor and went to Owerri? I contacted the councillor, who told me that if that family in Owerri is from Odufor, they should mention their kindred, and that he knows every family in Odufor.”
Nelson disclosed that the greatest challenge with the case was in being unable to trace the supposed family of Kosarachi in Owerri. However, she felt that Christ Holy Church International knew the location of this family, but “the church didn’t want to reveal the identity of this family in Owerri. I think the place should be Ngor-Kpala in Owerri. This other family – the Nweke – in Rivers State wanted to come, but they had no money.”
Nelson recounted what Odinaka Nweke told her that Kosarachi was their missing daughter and her birth name was Emmanuella. They claimed that the child was stolen, along with her brother. They had been searching for the two children for years and had gone to churches and radio stations with their photographs, but all attempts to find them failed. The boy-child, Delight, is said to be older than Kosarachi, and both went missing on the same day.
Nelson added: “According to Mr. Odinaka Nweke, his wife, a trader, went to the market, leaving the children in the care of his eldest child. It was that day that both children went missing. We were made to understand that this happened in 2018. Their mother returned to see a crowd at the compound, people looking for the missing children. They sent photos to different churches to pray for them. They also went to the police.”
The Nweke claim of Kosarachi as their long-missing daughter snowballed the case into different cases ranging from Child physical abuse, Child trafficked from Imo State to Lagos State for child labour, down to paternity dispute.
Nelson said that based on new issues that came up as RCS continued to follow up on the case, the organisation decided to make an effort to bring the Nwekes to Lagos State. The matter was first domiciled at the Festac Police Station. The Police asked both parties to come to the police station. It also asked the supposed parents of the girl, who are in Imo State, to produce the girl.
It should be recalled that the Christ Holy Church International has earlier moved Kosarachi to Imo State and handed her over to her supposed parents, who are the Chikodis, without recourse to the conclusion of the investigation, prosecution by the Nigeria Police Force or the Child Rights Law.
“The Police insisted that Kosarachi must be brought back so that everyone will know the situation with her. So many child protection groups are involved in this case,” said Nelson, adding: “There was a time the police said all parties should come to the station, Mrs Chikodi and Gift, who is the girl’s purported mother and aunt came to the station, but the supposed father did not come. Police asked them questions concerning the birth of the girl.
“Gift admitted at the station that she gave the child out as a domestic servant to someone in Festac. The police insisted that Mr. Chikodi must come to meet the Police in Lagos. Both claimants were asked to come with means of identification, including the girl’s birth certificate. The police said they wanted to know the real family of the girl. The child denied knowing the Nwekes. It was also at the station that it became apparent that both families, who are fighting over the paternity of the child, know each other.
“The girl also confirmed that her supposed parents told her that they were from Odufor, but ran to Ngor-Kpala. It was also agreed at the station that the child would be taken to the Police Juvenile Welfare Centre until either of the parents produced evidence to prove the child belonged to them.”
Nelson also expressed worry that Ifeoma Okoye, who brutalised Kosarachi, had not been seen, let alone to be arrested since she was moved from Lagos State to Imo State by the Christ Holy Church International. Nelson revealed that information reached her that the police tracked Okoye to Omoku in Rivers State, but the police were still yet to arrest her.
Asked what transpired on the day Kosarachi was rescued, Nelson said: “Kosarachi went with her madam to church, and some people noticed that the child always covered herself from head to toe, even during heat period. But on this particular day, someone pulled off the scarf on the head and there were wounds. The members of the church saw her wounds and were very angry with her madam, Ifeoma Okoye. They wanted to throw her out, but she was saved by the intervention of some people. Some members even wanted to beat her.
“The church members took the child for treatment. We went to the church to see if we could rescue the child, but it was difficult. We didn’t go with the police the first time we went there. I went with JDPC members. The first security guard we met at the gate wanted to go and see what was going on with the child, but his partner told him to first meet with the church’s Public Relations Officer.
“When the PRO came out, he said that we didn’t have the right to come to their church to take anybody. We had to leave. We then went to the police station to make a report. The DPO asked two police officers to go with us. The Police went with us but we met with the same hostility at the church. We left again and went back on Monday.
“The DPO asked JWC-trained officers to go with us to the church. On reaching there, we were told that the pastor in charge of the church was not around. We asked for his number, but those there refused to give it to us.”
With the case appearing to be getting cold and all moves to get Kosarachi out of the church, where her madam is a member, hitting rock bottom, Nelson and other activists escalated the matter to the Area ‘E’ Commander, Festac.
For a better understanding of the workings of the police organogram, the Area ‘E’ Commander superintendents over several police stations under the Festac axis, including the Festac Police Station.
According to Nelson, the Area Commander was briefed about the case and shown the video of the abused child. Things appeared to move pretty fast after that, with the Area Commander convening a meeting between the church and the child advocates.
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Nelson stated: “We were supposed to meet on a Friday, and we went there, but we were told that the child has been treated and returned to her home in Owerri. We were not really satisfied so we went with JDPC to meet the DPO. He said that the child had been treated and taken home.
“Our concern is that this child said she is from Odufor and now she was taken to Owerri. We can’t connect the two different states. The supposed parents in Odufor were contacted and they said they would be coming over to Lagos to see their child. So how can the case just close like that without the perpetrator brought to book? We had to reopen the case.”
Nelson said the police suddenly appeared to become lukewarm towards the case after the Area E Commander took over the case. Another observation is that the Area Commander seemed to be busy whenever the activists wanted to see him concerning the case.
The advocates, fatigued by the cat-and-mouse game with the police, went to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency to explain their frustrating experiences with the case, the church and the police. The DSVA is headed by a lawyer, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, who is saddled with the mandate of providing and coordinating end-to-end response to incidents of Domestic and Sexual Violence in the State. The Unit also looks into issues that have to do with children being physically abused or maltreated.
“The DSVA was not happy about the situation and therefore it sent a letter to Festac DPO, stressing that Kosarachi’s case should be thoroughly investigated, with that the Police had to contact the church. They were also asked to produce the child and Ifeoma Okoye,” Nelson said, adding: “Eventually, the church brought money and paid for the tracking of Ifeoma Okoye. Although the church distanced itself from the payment, insisting that it was paid by some concerned members.”
Our reporter asked Nelson what made her look beyond child physical abuse to the likelihood of Kosarachi being a trafficked child. She replied: “From the beginning, we discovered it was human trafficking because the child was brought from Owerri in Imo State to Lagos State, given to a madam as a worker. Now, we don’t even know if the Chikodis are her true parents. The other parents (Nwekes) said that their child was stolen. So, we are seeing possibilities of a case of abduction, trafficking and then child abuse.”
The case was also taken to the Lagos Office of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters. Judging the case from the fact that the child was moved from Imo State to Lagos State for child labour, it should primarily be at the jurisprudence of NAPTIP.
The NAPTIP Zonal Head, Comfort Agboko, explained that the right thing was for the police to transfer human trafficking or child trafficking cases to NAPTIP, but they mostly would not do that because “they see us as rivals”. Agboko added: “However, we do not handle child abuse cases in Lagos, because the DSVA is already doing that job. It’s DSVA’s purview and, again, paternity dispute is involved. Peradventure such a case happened in Abuja, our Agency would step in to handle it.
“The case has three legs and police can handle it; if, however, it is transferred to us, we will handle it. Whatever they want us to do, we will do! Sister Justina Nelson already went to DSVA and the woman in charge, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, who is quite capable, said the case will be handled.”
Our reporter reached out to DSVA to find out what it was doing to get justice for Kosarachi. Vivour-Adeniyi directed the reporter to get the information from the Agency’s Public Relations Officer, Joke Ladenegan Oginni, who said: “DSVA reached out to the police officer in charge of the investigation and practical steps to facilitate justice were discussed. DNA test to determine the genuine parent of the child, placement of the child in an orphanage pending the DNA test, to track and arrest the alleged perpetrator (who is at large). Decision to prosecute the church lies with the police and office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution. DSVA is unable to decide on this.”
According to Urgent Action Needed to End Child Domestic Servitude: “Ending child domestic servitude is possible, but it requires immediate and coordinated efforts. Governments and communities must raise awareness, transform social attitudes, and empower girls and women to break free from traditional roles that perpetuate this form of labour. Legislative and regulatory actions are crucial to combat child labour in domestic work and ensure that all children have access to quality, inclusive, and safe education. We must act now to protect these children and restore their rights.”
To be continued.
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