By Eche Amos, Akwanga

13-year-old Ovey Friday, popularly referred to as “Small Man” by members of Wulko Community in Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Area of Nasarawa State has been on the headlines, especially on the social media, for some times now, but for the wrong reason.

Described as a very intelligent and brilliant young boy by the community people, Ovey is said to be a chorister and Lator at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and Class Captain in Junior Secondary 3 of Government Junior Secondary School, all situated in Wulko Communinity.

But despite all these beautiful attributes and accolades on the boy, he was living with a monster step-mother, called Mercy Jummai.

Ovey’s father, Friday, who is currently into commercial motorcycling business in Lagos State, married Mercy Jummai on 30th August, 2019, from a neighbouring community, Gada-Biu, still in Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Area, following the demise of his first wife(biological mother to Ovey).

Ovey, who stays with his step-mother in Wulko, had been suffering untold domestic violence, ranging from deprivation of food, battering, hard labour, threats to life, and the likes, meted on him by his step-mother, silently.

On that fateful day, the violence took another horrible twist. His step-mother, who is heavily pregnant and close to delivery, accused him of making love to her in the dream of the night, an accusation he denied, as captured in my one-on-one interview with him on his hospital bed.

Ovey Friday(quoted):

“My step-Mother said she was always seeing me making love to her in the dream of the night, but I told her it was not true.

“So, she started threatening me, saying that I would not stay in the house with her.

“That was when she said she would take me to a native doctor’s(babalawo’s) house.

“Together with my paternal grandmother, she took me to the native doctor’s house along Kwandere road, in Lafia, around 8 o’clock in the morning of Monday, 28th October, 2019.

“The native doctor, who is a fulani man, picked a stone and threw it at me. After that, he rubbed the stone on me and tied my two hands with a rope.

“Then, he brought coals of fire and poured it on my tied hands, asking me to confess that I am a wizard and a member of a secret society. But I told him am innocent of what he is saying as am not a member of any secret society.

“He went ahead to bring grounded pepper and poured it on the fire while the smoke smeared all over my face, with my hands burning.

“After that, he fetched another coals of fire (he did this three times), that was when I began to pray to God. When he saw that I was praying, he came back and loosed the rope from my hands, but my wrists, palms and fingers were already severely burnt.

“They brought me home, and the next day, I woke up to see that my both hands had swollen with pox. It was at that time that they took me to the hospital for treatment”, he narrated.

When I first discovered this incident through some gory pictures of the young lad sent to me by a concerned citizen(Naomi Lucas), I contacted the relevant bodies and I took it upon myself to follow this matter to its logical conclusion.

This, I started by visiting Wulko Communinity myself on Monday, 4th November, 2019. My first spot was at the only Police Outpost in that Community, to introduce myself and my mission there. I was led to the Officer-in-charge, Supol Danjuma Bujujin, who narrated to me the roles he played for justice to be delivered against the perpetrators of the dastardly act.

Supol Danjuma said, personally, he spent some money for the treatment of the boy, while he directed his men to arrest the ‘evil’ woman for investigation and further action.

After effecting the arrest of the woman and Ovey’s grandmother, he referred the case to the Nasarawa-Eggon Divisional Police Headquarters for proper handling by the JWC. A further investigation led to the arrest of the native doctor who carried out the maleficium(sorcery or exorcism, as the case may be) in Lafia.

All the suspects were detained but spent only one night in police detention(arrested on Tuesday, 29th October, 2019, but bailed the following day) and were released thereafter, but upon what basis, I don’t know for now.

Later on, I requested to interface with the traditional ruler of Wulko Communinity, and gladly, the youth led me to him, with the support of Supol Danjuma.

The distraught traditional ruler(Sarkin Garin Wulko), His Royal Highness, Joseph Y. Envuladu, told me that neither he nor the community was happy about the development when it was reported, describing it as strange.

According to the titleholder, preliminary investigations revealed that the boy was badly maltreated, hence, the need to involve the police for proper handling.

His Royal Higness added that the child’s maternal grandmother had taken custody of the boy, pending when his biological father would return from Lagos, but that as a Community, some concerned members contributed some tokens and gave to one of the uncles of the victim for medical treatment in Lafia.

Yours sincerely visited the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Shendam road, Lafia, today, Tuesday, 5th November, 2019, with a photojournalist, where the boy is currently receiving treatment, under the bills of his maternal relatives, as the token contributed by the Community was only able to meet a little need.

As can be seen from the X-Ray result and tests conducted, Ovey Friday’s hands and fingers are gravely affected, leading to the permanent loss of over three fingers.

Funds are dried off from the purse of the relatives who are responsible for his treatment and a further delay in the continuation of the treatment might lead to a possible amputation of his hands, which means a bleaked future is eminent.

But in his final words to me, the victim, Ovey Friday, said, “I have forgiven my tormentors”.

While the Officer in charge of the the Police Outpost at Wulko Community must be commended for taking proactive measures over the child’s case, it remains unclear how and why the Police Division in Nasarawa-Eggon would quickly release the suspects one day after their arrest without any known retribution for human rights violation, child abuse and domestic violence.

For me, there is a huge lacuna in justice delivery to serve as deterrence to others, but I stand corrected, especially when am not a legal practitioner.

At the end of the whole investigation, there has to be someone to be held responsible for all this ordeal. And I strongly believe that human rights organizations, both in Nigeria and abroad, as well as relevant authorities, will step into this matter and give justice to Ovey Friday.