9-year-old Korede’s father, Francis Taiwo, who is now on the run, was said to be the pastor in charge of Key of Joy Celestial Church of Christ, Ajibawo area in Atan Ota, Ogun State. The boy told The Punch that he would not want to live with his father and step-mother again.
His words: ‘‘I was not fed regularly when I was chained. My father and my step-mother only fed me twice a day. Some days, I was not given any food. I want to go back to school because I want to be a doctor in the future. I also do not want to go back to my father’s house.’’
He was rescued on Friday by men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, inside a room where his father chained him for always stealing and running away from home. These acts made him believe he was ‘possessed’ and he started chaining him since January in an attempt to cast out the ‘spirit.'
Sometime in May, Francis was said to have taken Korede to a river with the chain on his neck for a deliverance bath. Korede said, ‘‘It is true that I stole a pot of soup and bowl of eba in our house. I also stole in the neighbourhood. My father’s inability to give money to my step-mother for the upkeep of the family caused it. But I promised not to go back to my old ways.’’
He also revealed that he no longer attended any school because he was caught trying to steal from a food vendor in school. Speaking to Punch, Korede’s step-mother, Kehinde, said she had warned her husband many times to desist from the nature of discipline.
The Ogun State Police P.R.O, SP Muyiwa Adejobi, said the police had launched a manhunt for the father. Korede will soon be handed over to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in Ogun State.
No comments:
Post a Comment