Operatives of Bayelsa State Police Command have arrested a 39-year-old woman identified as Esther Otoniye, for allegedly using hot knife to burn her 10-year-old step-daughter’s buttocks.

The arrest was ordered by the State Commissioner of Police, after complaints by some women and child rights advocacy groups, including the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and Gender Response Team Initiatives (GRIT).

It was alleged that Mrs. Otoniye committed the crime while the girl’s father was in the bathroom at their home in the Akenfa area of Yenagoa, the state capital.

The father admitted that injuries were inflicted on the girl because “she lied against her step mother.”

Meanwhile, the step-mother had denied she burnt her step daughter with hot knife, saying “hot water accidentally poured on the girl’s buttock while she was in the kitchen.”

Child rights’ advocacy groups observed the Primary Three pupil’s body was filled with scars, suspected to have come from severe and repeated beatings.

It was learnt thee State Police Command had taken charge of the case and taken the child to the Police clinic.

Confirming the spokesman of the State Police Command, Asinim Butswat, said the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigations.

Butswat said: “It is case of step mother using a hot knife to inflict bodily injuries on her 10-year-old step daughter. Investigation is ongoing.”