Eniola Adenike, the coordinator of Save End-Time Children Foundation, has raised concerns about a recent incident reported by the Bauchi Police Command, in which a five-year-old boy was chained and starved for three days in the Gwallagan Mayaka area of Bauchi State.
The boy’s father claimed that he confined the child to prevent him from stealing their neighbor’s valuables.
Eniola condemned this act, describing it as “parental beastliness trying to correct another beast in slavery.”
She emphasized that such harsh treatment only serves to harden the child’s heart rather than correct his behavior.
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The situation came to light thanks to a good Samaritan neighbor, Abubakar Nuhu, also known as Wanzam, who alerted the Bauchi Police Command after discovering the boy in chains.
The Police Command’s spokesman, SP Ahmed Mohammed Wakil, stated that the ward head of Gwallagan Mayaka reported the incident to the police on Wednesday after receiving information from the good Samaritan.
A resident in the community shared that his wife, Amina, had informed him about seeing the boy tied with a chain inside a room at their neighbors’ address.
Upon checking, Amina found the boy lying unconscious and promptly reported the situation.
Following this, a team of detectives led by CSP Mubarak S. Baba, the DPO of D’ Division, Dutsen Tanshi, moved to the scene and rescued the boy.
During an interview, the victim, Hussaini, revealed that his father had chained him and deprived him of food for three days.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Auwal Musa Muhammad, directed the arrest of the boy’s father for further investigation.
In response to this incident, Eniola urged the Bauchi State Police Command to ensure that the father faces the full wrath of the law.
She also called on the Bauchi State government to ensure the well-being of the child, stressing that such maltreatment is not a form of correction but rather an act of cruelty.
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