Abayomi Michael, the three-year-old boy repeatedly slapped by a teacher at Christ-Mitots International School in Isawo, Ikorodu, Lagos State, Mrs Stella Nwadigo, has been hospitalised.
Recall that a video of the incident hit the Internet on Wednesday and caused widespread outrage among Nigerians, many of who called for the teacher’s arrest.
The teacher was trying to teach Abayomi how to write figures and delivered a deafening slap on the face of the little boy each time he got it wrong.
She was later arrested by the authorities after the video went viral.
The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, confirmed the teacher’s arrest in a phone interview with the Punch on Wednesday.
Also providing an update on the case, the Chief Operating Officer at Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network, Ebenezer Omejalile, confirmed to Punch that Abayomi Michael had been hospitalised as a result of the physical assault.
He said, “The perpetrator has been arrested, while the pupil has been taken to the hospital. I’m here at the FSU with Supol Bola; the perpetrator is cooling off in the cell, and the case will be charged to court. This is the highest form of child cruelty by a supposed childminder by an animal in human skin. This sort of cruelty attracts so many consequences.
“The perpetrator has not only physically assaulted the child but has dehumanised the child in totality, going by several slaps on the right ear that may damage the child’s eardrum, which can lead to deafness unwarranted.”
“The perpetrator should face the wrath of the law so that she will serve as a deterrent to others. Lastly, I expect the Lagos State Ministry of Education, through the Quality Assurance Department, to move in as swiftly as possible. And a one-on-one interaction should be carried out on the pupils to know how many pupils the monster has subjected to this cruelty,” he added.
