Woman arrested in Lagos for allegedly abusing her stepchildren

A woman has been arrested for allegedly subjecting her stepchildren to abuse.

Funmilayo Samson was arrested on Friday, December 27, by Officials of the Directorate for Citizens’ Rights after a post about her abusing her stepchildren went viral on Facebook.

The children were rescued and Ms Funmilayo was handed over to the police.

The alleged abuse was shared on Facebook by a concerned neighbour who claimed Ms Funmilayo locks her stepchildren, aged 12, 9, and 3, outside the house when she’s leaving for work in the morning and leaves them there without food. They only get a chance to go back into the house when she returns in the evening. It was also alleged that she subjects them to physical abuse and leaves them with bruises on their bodies.

Ms Funmilayo and the father of the children got married after the children lost their mother.

Unfortunately, the father doesn’t live at home and only returns on weekends. This leaves the children susceptible to abuse from their stepmother.

Neighbours of Ms Funmilayo, on Ebuwawa Road in the Ikorodu area of the state, said the abuse has been going on for a long time and Ms Funmilayo becomes confrontational whenever anyone tries to intervene.

It was also alleged that she sometimes leaves the children without food when she travels out of the state for a few days.

The neighbour who first shared the child abuse story on Facebook revealed Ms Funmilayo had been reported to the neighbourhood police but she was allowed to go free and this emboldened her and made her more violent. As the abuse persisted, the concerned neighbour decided to take the story to Facebook.

Getting the story on Facebook worked as it got the attention of concerned citizens and the children were rescued.

The siblings are currently in protective custody.

Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, confirmed the arrest of Ms Funmilayo and the rescue of the children. He said the stepmother will be charged to court.