Couple to be charged with trafficking as wife bathes housemaid with hot water after husband assaults her sexually

MEN of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a couple with a view to charging them to court for trafficking after the wife bathed the 19-year old teenager in hot water claiming she had a sexual relationship with her husband.

Following the attack, the house help, known as Blessing, is undergoing treatment in a Lagos hospital after the attack by her employer, Isioma Ezeofor, who accused her of having a sexual relationship with her husband, Chigozie Ezeofor. Apparently, the victim, who hails from the Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, lived with the couple at their home on Aunty Toyin Street, Kodeibo Estate, in the Isheri Oshun area of Lagos State.

Blessing was said to have been employed as a maid about six months ago by the Ezeofors, who hail from the Akokwa area of Imo State. Chigozie, a tyre dealer, was said to have sexually assaulted Blessing and matters came to a head on Sunday, when the woman returned from a trip and caught the husband caressing Blessing in their home.

She was alleged to have beaten the maid to a pulp before pouring hot water on her. A good Samaritan was said to have alerted policemen in the area to the incident, leading to the arrest of the couple.

One police source said: “Since she arrived at their house, it had been one assault after another. According to the victim, when she arrived, the man pretended to be interested in her welfare and asked if she was a virgin.

She said when she told him that she was a virgin, he started touching her at every opportunity. The girl said one day, he attempted to have sex with her  and when he saw that penetration was difficult, he started having anal sex with her."

According to the police, the victim said that while the sexual assault persisted, she was helpless because she had nowhere to run to. She was a victim of trafficking as her guardian had handed her over to the family and her salary was what they were using to send her to school.

Chike Oti, a spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, confirmed the incident, adding that the campaign of the state police commissioner Edgal Imohimi, against abuse of girls children, women and juveniles, was yielding fruit. He added that the couple were in police custody and would be charged with trafficking and sexual assault at the end of investigations.

"The case was reported at one of our divisions as the victim said she had suffered terribly in the hands of the couple, who delighted in dehumanising her regularly. She further revealed that her mistress, Isioma Ezeofor, beat her up at the slightest provocation, while her husband, Chigozie Ezeofor, sneaked up to her whenever his wife was away.

“The exploitation came to a head when Mrs Isioma Ezeofor’s temper got the better of her and thus she emptied a kettle of hot water on the poor girl, scalding her in the process. Both husband and wife are being interrogated at the gender section of the Lagos State Police Command and would be charged to court at the end of investigation,” Mr Oti added.

He said the state police commissioner was encouraged that more victims of domestic and sexual abuses were speaking up.