Child labour and child trafficking are issues that the Lagos State Government has vehemently stood against. Yet, under the full glare of the Child Rights Law, a 10-year-old has been brutalised, while the perpetrator disappears into thin air under the watchful eyes of the Lagos State Police Command. The case has become a hydra-headed one, unearthing astonishing dimensions. JULIANA FRANCIS follows up on the case.
Meeting 10-year-Old Kosarachi
The creaking ceiling fan disrupted the silence of the room, which battled tiredly to carry out its chores. In a corner of the room, 10-year-old Kosarachi sat on a seat.
This is an apartment in Festac, where the reporter met with the abused victim.
She is a lanky child with a sad-looking face and a clean-shaven head full of scars. Other scars, crisscrossing her back, are testimonies of how hellish life had been since she became a domestic servant. Indeed, at her age Kosarachi should be struggling alongside her mates to complete her basic education, playing at recreational centres and eating confectionaries.
On this day, she had two bags with her; one contained her food and clothes. She got up quietly from the seat to fold and refold her clothes for the umpteenth time.
She seemed to be nervous. Perhaps she was excited timidly; after all, she thought she was going home to reunite with her parents and siblings.
She preferred to sit silently like she was afraid of being seen or heard. When asked a direct question, she would slowly glance up but refuse to maintain eye contact for long.
One gets to see her eyes; it has often been said that the eyes are the window to the soul. Kosarachi’s eyes are a whirlpool of sadness, a reflection of the despondency buried inside her little heart.
At her age, she should be full of mischief, laughter and vivaciousness, but instead, she appears timorous. The reporter tried several times to make her laugh, but she seemed to have forgotten how to.
When she eventually tried to smile, it came across as a grimace, unwittingly displaying a chipped tooth.
“What happened to your tooth,” asked the reporter.
“My madam punched my mouth with her ringed fingers, there was blood everywhere,” she mumbled.
Kosarachi is an underaged maid to one Mrs Ifeoma Okoye, residing in the Festac area of Lagos. Okoye disappeared into thin air after she was discovered to have repeatedly physically abused Kosarachi leaving a map of wounds on her head and body.
According to sources, Okoye fled to Rivers State and currently planning to flee overseas, where she has relatives.
The ordeal of Kosarachi was discovered at the church premises of Christ Holy Church International located in Festac, where Okoye worships. The church was said to have rescued and given the child medical treatment.
Kosarachi would later be handed over to Religious Sisters of Charity, a nongovernmental organization with an interest in creating awareness concerning human trafficking. The organization was represented by Reverend Sister Justina Nelson.
Kosarachi was moved from the haven of Religious Sisters of Charity to the Lagos State Police Juvenile Centre (JWC), Alakara, Mushin area of the State.
A video, showing her injured and scarred body went viral, causing many child protection organisations in Lagos State to become furious demanding justice for the child.
Among these organisations are Religious Sisters of Charity, Advocate For Children and Vulnerable Persons Network (ACVPN-comprising several organisations), Justice Development and Peace Centre (JDPC), Rights and Welfare of Traumatised Wives and Youths Initiative (RAWTWAYI), Child Protection Network, National Human Rights Commission, Africa Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency(DSVA), DOHS Cares Foundation, to mention but a few.
On October 29, Kosarachi was moved to the JWC. She erroneously thought she was going to reunite with her mother. She told this reporter that she just wanted to go home and be with her mother and siblings.
When she got to JWC and discovered that she would be staying there for a while before reuniting with her parents, she broke down and wept.
The reporter tried to comfort her, but she continued to cry: “I don’t want to stay here! I don’t want to stay here! I want to go to my mom!”
The co-founder of the ACVPN, Mr Ebenezer Omajalile stressed the importance of JWC in situations such as Kosarachi.
His words: “The Jubilee Welfare Center (JWC) is a designated transit unit of the Nigeria Police Force. The JWC is very important to the lives of children who are lost and found, sexually abused, physically abused, and neglected children.
“The JWC is the live wire of the Nigeria Police Force, The Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development MYSD often go there to pick up these children with an issued Police extract.”
Kosarachi told the reporter that she preferred to stay with Religious Sisters of Charity pending when her mother would come for her.
However, she may have a long wait ahead of her judging by what is playing out.
The case, which was initially that of child physical abuse, has snowballed into child trafficking, child labour, paternity disputes and murder cases.
Kosarachi Travelled From Imo To Lagos For Employment As a Househelp
For an easier understanding of this report, let’s start from the beginning.
Our reporter received a petition and would later see the video of Kosarachi sometime in October 2024. She decided to follow up on the case.
The puzzle can be pieced as this; about two years ago, Kosarachi was living in Imo State, with her mother, father and siblings. She was also schooling there. She said she did not know her parent’s full name but added that her mother is called Uchechi Chikodi, while her father is Mr Chikodi.
One day, Mrs Chikodi’s elder sister, Gift ( aunt to Kosarachi) comes to pick Kosarachi up after an intense discussion with Mrs Chikodi.
After the discussion, Gift took Kosarachi and gave it out to Mrs Ifeoma Okoye as a maid. The child was moved from Imo State to Lagos State, where her life of hell began.
Kosarachi explained that Okoye’s children stay overseas, while one a female, lives in Lekki with their father. Kosarachi lives in Festac with Okoye.
Kosarachi said that she does all sorts of domestic chores including laundry, washing plates, and sweeping, among others. She said that the laundry also involved washing jeans and trousers.
She was not enrolled in school even though Okoye promised Gift and her mother to do so.
She also complained that Okoye had a penchant for using the heels of her shoes to attack her, leaving several injuries and scars on her head. Okoye then compelled the child to permanently wear a headgear just to cover the wounds on her head.
According to the child, she was placed on a salary, but she never got to receive the money, the money was sent to her Aunt Gift and her mom, Mrs Chikodi.
Listen to her: “It was my Aunt, Gift who told my mom that a woman (Ifeoma Okoye) was looking for a little girl to live with her. My mom’s name is Chikodi, she lives in Owerri, Imo State, but I live at Festac 322 Road with my madam, I don’t know the house number.
“Aunt Gift and my mom had a discussion; my mom told her to take my brother, but Aunt Gift refused. She said she preferred to take me and it was agreed. I didn’t know that the woman they brought me to would turn out to be a very bad person.
“I thought she was a good person. My mom and Aunt thought so too. I had lived in Owerri in Imo State until I was brought to Lagos State. My madam would punish me at the slightest provocation. She maltreated me. I suffered so much in her hands.
“My daily routine is to clean the house, and then she would ask me to clean it again. After cleaning the windows, she will ask me to clean them all over again. If I finish washing plates, she will ask me to wash them again.
“After arranging her clothes, she will scatter her wardrobe and then ask me to arrange the clothes again. Her attitude towards me made me cry, and whenever I cried, she would get angry and hit me on the head with the heel of her shoes. I lived with her for two years.
“She has four children, who are older than me, her children are in London. I live alone with her. She did not put me in school even though she promised my mom and aunt that she would.
“She gives me food once a day. She doesn’t take me to the hospital, she doesn’t treat me when I am sick. Sometimes she would complain that her children were under spiritual attack and she would beat me, saying that I was attacking them in London.”
Kosarachi, who said that Okoye sells clothes, shoes and bags, added that the woman has a daughter in Lekki, who also used to beat her whenever she came around.
Laws On Domestic Servitude, Human Trafficking In Nigeria
Under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Lagos State Child Rights Law, Okoye has breached many and should be arrested and prosecuted.
Similarly, Mrs Chikodi and Gift have also breached the laws.
The Child Rights Law Section 10 states: “Every child is entitled to respect the dignity of his person, and accordingly, no child shall be (a) subjected to physical, mental or emotional injury, abuse, neglect or maltreatment, including sexual abuse; (b) subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; (c) subjected to attacks upon his honour or reputation; or (d) held in slavery or servitude, while in the care of a parent, legal guardian or school authority or any other person having authority for the care of the child.”
Section 14 of the CRA further says that every child has the right to free, compulsory and universal basic education and every parent or guardian shall ensure that his child or ward attends and completes his basic school education.
Okoye, Mrs Chikodi and Gift also breached Section 25 of CRA, which states thus; “Subject to this Law, no child shall be (a) subjected to any forced or exploitative labour; or (d) employed as a domestic help outside his own home or family environment.”
The Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act (NAPTIP) in Nigeria criminalizes the exploitation of humans.
Article 5 of the Act states that parties must criminalize practices that exploit humans, including sexual and labour exploitation, while Article 3(b) says, that “consent is irrelevant if any means of trafficking are used, such as force, deception, coercion, or abduction. Even if these means are not used, it is still trafficking if a child is involved.”
According to UNICEF, “Roughly 160 million children were subjected to child labour at the beginning of 2020. This accounts for nearly 1 in 10 children worldwide.”
It further states that not only does child labour cut children off from schooling and health care, restricting their fundamental rights, but trafficked children are often subjected to violence, abuse and other human rights violations. For the girl-child, the threat of sexual exploitation looms large, while boys may be exploited by armed forces or groups.
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.7 Target is to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, as well as to end all forms of child labour by 2025.
The National Bureau of Statistics in its Nigeria Child Labour Survey 2022, First round states, “More than 62.9 million children five to 17 years old live in Nigeria, representing 30.3 per cent of the population. The survey shows that 24,673,485 children five to,17 years old (39.2 per cent) are in child labour.”
The United Nations on Child Domestic Servitude says: “Child domestic servitude is a severe, yet often hidden, form of child labour and violence that affects millions of children worldwide, with girls being disproportionately impacted.”
It stresses that these children are forced into domestic work due to a range of factors including poverty, gender discrimination, and displacement.
Also, “these children perform household chores, care for children, and run errands, often behind closed doors, making them invisible to the outside world. This invisibility prevents them from accessing education, protection, and other vital services, trapping them in a cycle of exploitation and abuse.”
How Kosarachi Was Discovered And Rescued
Kosarachi would have continued to languish in dudgeon of domestic servitude in the house of Ifeoma Okoye but for the intervention of fate.
One fateful Sunday in October 2024, Kosarachi went to the Christ Holy Church International located in Festac with Madam Okoye.
It was there that her bodily harm was seen and caused an uproar among the congregants.
The story herein has two versions. One version claimed that a church member pulled off the headgear which Okoye compelled Kosarachi to wear to conceal her injury and therefore her wounds seen, while the second version claimed that the child bent and was picking something when the headgear fell off, leading to congregants seeing her wounds.
The bottom line however is that most people in the church saw the injuries on the child’s head and she was rushed to a nearby ‘pharmacy,’ where she was treated, and asked some questions.
Our reporter on the 2nd of November 2024, went to the ‘pharmacy’ to speak with the woman who gave the child the initial treatment identified as Nurse Chioma. The shop, which was more of a shanti was locked.
The shop is also opposite Christ Holy Church International.
Our reporter heard that the Religious Sisters of Charity got interested in the case after seeing the viral video of the injured child. The interest of the NGO was further piqued by the girl’s statement that she was moved from Imo State to Lagos State for employment, which are element of trafficking.
In the video, Kosarachi also mentioned that she was from Odufor Etche Local Government Area in Rivers State.
Reverend sister Justina Nelson knew Odufor Axis and decided to see if she could trace the child’s parents. Just as she was attempting to trace them via Reverend Father there, a councillor of ward 8, Odufor Etche Local Government, Mr Chibuzor Nwalewe said that he also saw the viral video on a group he belonged and got interested after Kosarachi mentioned that she was from Odufor Etche. Just like Nelson, Nwalewe began tracing to find out the identity of the child.
He first further shared the video among members of his community and then bingo, someone came forward to claim that Kosarachi was his daughter, Emmanuella, stolen some years ago. The claimants are Mr. and Mrs. Odinaka Nweke. Right now, two couples, the Chikodis and the Nwekes are squabbling over paternity of the child.
NAPTIP defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of a person for exploitation.
It would later be realised that an outraged concerned Nigerian video recorded Kosarachi while she was being treated and responding to some questions.
The Religious Sisters of Charity organization, based in Festac, went to the Christ Holy Church International to rescue the child but the church allegedly refused to release her or hand Okoye over to the Police.
It was also gathered that police a team from Festac Police Station, went there twice to arrest Okoye and collect the child, but they were not successful.
This further infuriated child protection organisations, fueling discussions with many asking aloud why and how the Lagos State Police Command who are usually the first respondents in such matters, failed to Okoye or even rescue the child.
While the Festac Police Station was pussyfooting over arresting of Okoye, she bolted out of Lagos State.
Child Rights advocates, beginning to feel frustrated by the actions and inactions of the police, wrote a petition against the Area E Police Commander, Ifeoma Okoye and Christ Holy Church International.
The petition was shared among the child protection organisations mentioned at the beginning of this report.
The petition, partly reproduced below will further help readers to understand the scope of this matter.
“Petition Against Madam Ifeoma Okoye, Christ Holy Church International and the Area Commander, Festac
“This matter is of great importance to us, and we believe that your support can lead to meaningful outcomes.
“Background: A case was reported to us on the 17th of September, 2024, of a certain Kosarachi who was brutalized by her guardian. In a recorded video the little girl narrated her ordeal in the hands of her guardian, Madam Ifeoma Okoye whom she mentioned while she was being interviewed and treated for her wounds by a nurse who owns a pharmacy close to the church.
“She said she was given to Madam Ifeoma Okoye by her friend and that she (Kosarachi) is from Odufor in Etche, Rivers State and that she is about 10 years old, according to her statement in the video.
“Armed with this information, we reported the case to Rev. Sr. Justina Suekime Nelson, RSC, (Religious Sisters of Charity) who is in charge of the anti-human Trafficking ministry of the Religious Sisters of Charity, being aware that she has handled cases of such in collaboration with the Justice Development and Peace Centre (JDPC) and Rights and Welfare of Traumatised Wives and Youths Initiative (RAWTWAYI).
“We suspected a case of child kidnapping, trafficking and abuse with bodily harm injury and we carried out an investigation and found out that the said child attends Christ Holy Church International, on 322 Road Festac with the said madam.
“We also gathered from multiple sources who want to remain anonymous, that the girl was always covered up from head to toe even during the hot weather and people became curious, but on this fateful day the covering on her head fell off and the wounds on her head and body were revealed she was asked what happened to her, and she said her madam inflicted the injuries on her, the church members accosted the madam thereafter and she began to cry and plead for forgiveness.
“We were told that the child is currently being held in the church after she was treated, but the church denied knowing anything about the case (trying so hard to protect their member, Madam Ifeoma).
“We reported the case to the Juvenile Welfare Centre and Family Support Unit of the Festac Police station and we visited the church on several occasions, even sending them a letter from the JWC asking the church to produce the suspect and the child at the instance of the DPO but they chose to deny access to police officers who went to serve invitation letters even when the suspect could still be located within the environment.
“Several meetings were also scheduled between the complainants and the Church, but their representatives didn’t show up on the said dates, as they had gone ahead to speak with the Area Commander who seemed not to be passionate about the case because he was told that the child has been reunited with her family in Owerri.
“Doubting the story, we decided to investigate more to trace the family of the girl in Rivers State by contacting the Director of Child Protection Network in the State because we didn’t understand the correlation between where the girl said she was from and where they claimed to have taken her to.
“We have also discovered that the child (Kosarachi) and one other child, a male disappeared on the same day in Odufor village, according to her father, Mr. Odinaka Nweke.
“The Church has refused to disclose the whereabouts of the suspect the name of the village and the so-called parents they took the child to in the East.
“Where we are; After reaching out to the parents of the girl(Kosarachi) in Rivers State, they asserted that Kosarachi and her brother were both kidnapped from their family compound in 2018 when she was two years old and her brother was four years old.
“The eldest sibling of the two kidnapped children, according to the parents confirmed to have seen a fair-complexioned woman who lured her younger ones with a promise to buy them biscuits. The church has promised to provide the said parents whom they gave the child (Kosarachi) and also provide the girl on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.
“Our Request: We respectfully request that you use your good office to facilitate the arrest of the suspect and her friend and everyone involved in the case and also that the case be moved from Area E to the gender office of the Police command. We hope you will consider our petition seriously and act on this important issue. We believe that with your leadership and commitment, we can achieve a positive outcome. Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your response.”
It was signed by Barr. Rose Mbata, National President, RAWTWAYI and Rev. Sr. Justina Suekime Nelson RSC, Theresa Igata, Secretary, JDPC.
Kosarachi told this reporter that Okoye and she were moved to Imo State, by the pastor of Christ Holy Church International driver identified as Stanley. Kosarachi would later be brought back, but Okoye did not return.
Ironically, it was also gathered that following Okoye’s disappearance, the Christ Holy Church International had also provided N220,000 to the Festac Police to track and arrest her.
She also disclosed that Okoye monthly used to pay Gift N10,000, while Mrs Chikodi gets N20,000. Kosarachi revealed that she stayed in the Christ Holy Church International close to three weeks after her injuries were discovered before being moved to Imo State, along with Okoye by the pastor’s driver Stanley.
Asked why she did not tell her mom what she was going through at the hands of Okoye, Kosarachi replied that whenever her mother called to speak with her via Okoye’s phone, the madam would not only monitor the conversation but also coach her on what to say.
She said: “Whenever my mother calls to speak with me, Ifeoma Okoye will stand with me, telling me what to say to my mother. She also said I should tell her that she had already enrolled me in school, which is not true.”
Recollecting how she was rescued, Kosarachi recounted: “Whenever we are going to church, my madam will instruct me to dress well so that people will think she is taking good care of me, not knowing that she is a wicked person. I kept enduring the abuse.
“On that day in church, tracks were shared and I wanted to collect mine, but she sent me to pick up some dirt that was on the floor. As I was picking them up, a man in the church beckoned at me, I was about to walk away, but he sent a child to call me.
“I walked over to meet him. He asked me a series of questions. He asked me if I came to the church with my mother, and I said no. I pointed to my madam.
“The man reported to pastor Nnamdi and he was asked to bring me. They raised my clothes at the back and the entire church shouted when they saw the injuries. People in the church were angry.”
She added: “My mother is Uchechi Chikodi and my father is Mr Chikodi. I don’t know the couple from Rivers State. I have seen a picture of myself when I was little. I don’t believe that the couple in Rivers are my parents.”
This reporter also interfaced with the different child protection groups fighting for justice for Kosarachi and also visited the Christ Holy Church International to get their side of the story and find out why the church did not hand Okoye over to the police for prosecution.
The church’s lawyer, who introduced himself as barrister Ahamefule Chiemezie Nwadike Peter, spoke with this reporter.
To Be Continued.
