Grandmother, 63, pours boiling water on teenage granddaughter

A 63-year-old woman, Mrs. Amdalat Adeniji, has allegedly poured hot water on her teenage granddaughter, Balikis Karim, leaving her with severely scalded skin.
It was gathered that Adeniji, residing at Ajisebiaramecca Street, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos, had sent her granddaughter, Balikis, on an errand to buy some rice for their dinner.
She was said to have stayed longer in running the errand and this infuriated her grandmother, who allegedly poured hot water on the victim as a punishment.
According to an eye witness, Aderinsola Adedokun, the 17-year-old victim, who had been living with the suspect since she was eight years old, following the demise of her mother, suddenly raised the alarm at about 10:30pm that her grandmother had poured her hot water, attracting other residents and sympathisers.
Adedokun said, “The incident happened at around 10:30 pm. I came for vigil at my church, when we heard the shout of the girl crying for help. According to the victim, her grandmother had sent her to buy rice from a particular customer, whom the girl could not find because she had already closed. She came back and told her grandmother that she could not get the food stuff.
“But as she turned back to go into the room, the grandmother took the hot pot containing the boiling water and poured it on the girl’s back and arm. She even said she should thank her God that the water did not get into her eyes because that was her target.
“We took the girl to a chemist, who gave her some treatment and medication. The father of the girl was contacted, but he did not take the girl to any hospital. Even none of her family members was ready to take her to the hospital for proper treatment. It was a human rights activist that later took the girl to the General Hospital, from where she was referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. The grandmother was very mean and wicked to have done this.”
Another neighbour, simply identified as Bolatito, said, “It was in the morning I heard what happened. Balikis was seriously injured in the attack. This is not good at all. I can’t imagine how a mother would do such a havoc to her daughter.”
Meanwhile, the coordinator of Community Women’s Right Foundation, Alhaji Lateef Akinborode, said the suspect had been arrested while the victim was receiving treatment at LASUTH.
Akinborode said, “The suspect is in detention. She has been charged to court. The victim is in stable condition at LASUTH. We had to take her to the hospital as the father and other family members did not want to take responsibility.
“This attitude by relatives, who don’t show concern about the welfare of their family, is very bad. If they could do this to their own blood, how much more would they do to someone who does not have any link with them?”
When contacted, the father of the victim, Mr. Hakeem Karim, declined to comment on the incident.
The case has been reported at the Igbogbo Police Division and the suspect has been arrested.