VIDEO: 14-year-old girl badly burned in aunt's care

A 14-year-old girl from Akwa Ibom State has suffered serious burns while staying with her aunt in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State.

Chidiebube Okeoma, a journalist and human rights activist, shared the story in a video on Facebook.

Mr Okeoma said the case has been reported to the State Criminal Investigations Department in Owerri. His organization, Stands For Humanity Foundation, is also involved in the matter.

“It happened in Ngor Okpala LGA in Imo State. The woman is from Akwa Ibom. The child is from Akwa Ibom, too,” Mr Okeoma wrote.

In the video, Mr Okeoma interviewed the girl, who showed serious burn injuries on parts of her body.

“She’s a woman; we can’t open her clothes,” Mr Okeoma said while filming the girl.

“The girl is 14 years old. Her breasts, all parts of her body. This is hot water,” he added as the camera showed injuries around the girl’s neck.

The girl explained how she got the injuries.

She said her aunt asked her where she had been, but she did not tell her.

When she got home, her aunt told her to fetch leaves for cooking.

“She asked me again, and I refused to tell her. She said that we were going to cook that food that night, and it was late,” the girl said.

The girl explained that her aunt told her brother to boil water for her younger sister to bathe.

“She did not know that my brother did not mix cold water into the water, and the water was not too hot,” she said.

The girl said her aunt later sent her to buy something nearby while she was preparing the leaves.

She claimed that her aunt helped her brother bathe her younger sister before the hot water was poured on her.

“She now went and supported my brother to bathe my little sister and did not know my brother did not mix cold water, and she now poured the water on me. The water was not too hot,” she said.

Mr Okeoma, reacting to the injuries, asked: “The water was not too hot, and it did this level of injuries on you?”

At first, he did not want to expose the girl's body further, explaining that she was a minor and a woman.

Later, he showed part of the girl’s body, revealing what looked like serious injuries.

A woman’s voice was also heard in the video saying, “If you see (her) chest.”

Mr Okeoma did not give more details about what happened or the identity of the woman who was looking after the girl.

The girl's aunt, who allegedly poured the hot water on her, was seen in the video sitting in what looked like the office where the interview took place. The woman did not speak during the video.

The police spokesperson in Imo, Henry Okoye, has confirmed the incident.

Mr Okoye told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday morning that “the matter is being investigated by the SCID” in Imo. He promised to provide more updates after the investigation.