Two days ago, we brought you a report that a woman had brought a little girl to the hospital in Akure but rushed away with her dead body immediately the medical personnel on duty pronounced the brutally beaten girl dead. Read more about that here.
The activist who shared the story online informed the general public that efforts were being made to locate the woman and find out more about the brutalised child and possibly arrest the father responsible for torturing the girl. The woman rushed out with the corpse without waiting to be documented.
The girl has now been identified as 4-year-old Testimony Toke Babalola and she died on Wednesday in Akure, the Ondo State capital. And, her father has also been arrested.
It was gathered that before the gruesome death of late Testimony, she had been subjected to constant torture in the hands of her parents, particularly, her father in a bid to cast out an evil spirit from her.
The Parish Priest of Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Akure, Reverend Father Mathew Ologun disclosed this on Friday to the leadership of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, Ondo State, adding that the girl’s mother is a member of the Catholic faith.
While stating that the little girl had serially gone through abuse, Rev Father Ologun said that the church had two months ago got hint of the ill-treatment meted out to the late testimony through the church children’s caregiver, who noticed so many scars all over her body.
The Rev. Father also revealed that upon investigation by the church, the father of the girl, identified as Felix Babalola, who attends a white garment church (Cherubim and Seraphim) within Nao area, along Oba Adesida road in Akure owned up to had inflicted injuries on the girl which he claimed was done in line with his church (Cherubim and Seraphim) deliverance style.
Corroborating, Rev Father Ologun’s position, the head of the children’s department of the Catholic Church who craved anonymity, explained that she observed the girl’s predicament in June during the church children’s day anniversary.
According to her, upon calling the attention of the girl’s mother to the startling discovery, she argued that injuries were due to the punishment she used to get from her father for being stubborn, adding that they were trying to instill in her, moral lessons.
However, unknown to the church the beating and torture of late Testimony continued until she was rushed to the hospital dead.
Meanwhile, following the death of Testimony, when contacted on the telephone, the girl’s father told the catholic priest that his church (Cherubim and Seraphim) told him that his daughter is possessed and needs deliverance, hence the constant beating.
He was said to have also claimed that the girl was over-pampered by her grandmother who she had been residing with in Ikare-Akoko in Akoko North-East Local Government Area of the state since she was 9-months-old before she came live with them recently in Akure.
The effort of the Rev. Father who had been monitoring the movement of the father of the girl since the news broke in order to hand him over to the police proved abortive as he absconded after being trailed to Benin garage in Akure.
