A female lawyer in Anambra State, who was declared wanted for alleged abuse of her 11-year-old house girl (name withheld) in the state, has surrendered to the police.
The lawyer, Adachukwu Cukelu-Okafor, was said to have used a broken bottle, knife and electric iron to “brutalise” the child who began staying with her on January 5, 2024.
The incident happened in Akpaka, Onitsha in Onitsha North Local Government Area of Anambra State, after Mrs Cukelu-Okafor, reportedly accused the house maid of touching her daughter.
Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State had, days after the incident, said his administration had begun the prosecution of Ms Cukelu-Okafor over the abuse of the house help.
The lawyer later reportedly went into hiding which prompted the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in Anambra State, Ify Obinabo, to declare her wanted.
Following Ms Cukelu-Okafor’s disappearance, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, placed a N2 million bounty on her.
Ms Cukelu-Okafor surrendered herself to the police in Awka, the Anambra State capital, according to a statement, on Friday, by Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, the media aide to the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in Anambra.
The statement did not indicate when the lawyer surrendered to the police.
Mrs Obinabo, according to the statement, said the lawyer will be arraigned before the Children, Sexual and Gender Based Violence Magistrate Court in Awka within the following week.
The commissioner said she visited the survivor and that she is set to be discharged from a hospital.
She said the survivor appreciated the state government for caring for her and appealed that the lawyer be prosecuted.
