Court remands woman for burning domestic helpers with hot knife

A 48-year-old woman identified as Bilikis Mohammed has been remanded in the Federal Correctional Centre, Ilorin area of Kwara for inflicting injuries on two of her housemaids with hot knife.

Punch reports that the resident of House 114, Mandate Estate Area of the state was arraigned before a Kwara State Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ilorin on three counts of child labour, cruelty to children and causing hurt to two housemaids put in her custody.

It was gathered that Mohammed inflicted the injuries on her maids for not flushing the toilet after they used it.

Revealing how she was arrested, the prosecutor, Kehinde Ajide of the legal department of the state command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), said Mohammed was arrested by operatives of the NSCDC on Thursday, October 10, 2019, following a complaint by one Issah Adebayo of Plot D28, Basin Staff Quarter, Ilorin, that Bilikis inflicted injuries on her housemaids with a hot knife.

According to the prosecutor, the NSCDC investigation ascertained that the accused inflicted body injuries on her domestic servants with the use of a hot knife.

“Both victims were physically abused by the use of the hot knife on their thighs and buttocks, thereby causing grievous bodily hurt to them for using the toilet without flushing it as alleged by the accused," Ajide said.

After Mohammed pleaded not guilty to the charges, Chief Magistrate Abdulganiyu Mustapha ordered that she be remanded in the Federal Correctional Centre until the next adjourned date.

Mustapha thereafter adjourned the case till Wednesday, October 23, 2019, for hearing.