Residents of Ila Orangun Street, Ijegun,
Satellite Town, Lagos are worried about the living condition of a
nine-year-old boy, Obrewho Emmanuel, who they claim roams the area and
is unattended to.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the
parents of Emmanuel, who hail from Isoko, Delta State, had been
separated, while the wife had returned to their village over five years
ago.
When our correspondent visited the area, Emmanuel was seen in an uncompleted building, dressed in grey sweater and black short.
A resident who gave her name simply as
Bolatito, noted that Emmanuel, who had scars in most parts of his body,
was usually maltreated by his father whenever the latter came back home
at midnight.
She said, “The boy stays on the street for most time of the day.
“He doesn’t eat good food except what
good Samaritan neighbours give him. He has been roaming this street for
as long as I can remember. I got here about four years ago.
“Apart from the fact that he does not get good home care, his father maltreats him.
“We are concerned about his condition, but we cannot just take him away his father.”
When our correspondent got to Emmanuel’s
father’s rented apartment, a neighbour who craved anonymity, noted that
since Emmanuel’s mother left the house, the boy had become a wanderer.
He said, “Emmanuel’s mother has eft his father. The woman returned to her village.
“The boy has been sent home from school on different occasions. The father usuallu return home at midnight.
“There was a day that he beat the boy so much that we were worried. We threatened to beat him up too.
“Some people had reported him at the Satellite Police Station.
“We want something to be done about the boy’s situation.”
Speaking with PUNCH Metro, a shy Emmanuel said a motorcycle had hit him on the hand while hanging around the street.
He said, “I attend Christ Private School. Dad does not come back till very late in the evening.
“Yes, he beats me. Sometimes with brooms and sticks.
“About 3pm today, I cooked noodles at home. I have eaten only the noodles since morning.
“On one occasion while hanging around, a bike hit me on the hand, and it bent.”
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