A Nigerian lawyer facing allegations of brutally abusing her 11-year-old housemaid has turned herself in to authorities after the government placed a bounty for her capture.
This comes after the country’s Minister of Women Affairs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye had announced a 2 million naira ($4,600) reward earlier this week for information leading to Okafor’s arrest.
The suspect, Adachukwu Okafor, surrendered to the Anambra State Police Command on Friday, according to a statement from the state’s women’s affairs commissioner Anambra State Commissioner, Ify Obinabo, on Friday.
The high-profile case has sparked outrage across Nigeria. Graphic photos circulating online allegedly show Okafor’s maid, Happiness Nwafor, suffering severe injuries from beatings with objects like broken bottles, knives and an electric iron.
Okafor, a lawyer based in Anambra State, apparently inflicted the abuse as punishment after an incident involving her own daughter. But activists condemned the “barbaric” violence against the 11-year-old helper as unjustifiable.
Minister Ohanenye asserted her authority to intervene in the matter as a government duty to protect women and children nationwide. Her bounty offer represented a forceful response to demands for justice in the disturbing case.
Once Okafor was declared wanted and the cash reward publicized, the suspect promptly surrendered to police in Awka rather than face vigilante-style efforts to detain her. The authorities plan to arraign Okafor in an Anambra court on child abuse charges next week.
Meanwhile, the victim Nwafor is set to be discharged from hospital care and recover with family. Anambra’s commissioner of women and social welfare Ify Obinabo recently visited Nwafor and promised harsh punishment for Okafor. Still, Nwafor voiced appreciation for the supportive state response so far.
