The police in Lagos state have arrested a 39-year-old pregnant woman, Mrs. Monica Momodu, who allegedly assaulted her teenage housemaid with a hot pressing iron.
The 13-year-old girl, Sara Egbadon, was ironing Momodu’s children’s clothes on Sunday when she drifted off to sleep.
Momodu on noticing that Egbadon had dozed off, swiftly snatched the iron from her and slammed it on her hand and thigh.
According to Egbadon, a Junior Secondary School, JSS 2 pupil, who was
brought from Supenu-Irua, Edo State, and had been living with the woman for five years on Abiodun Adesida Street, Oke Afa, Lagos, she
had washed the boss’ children’s clothes and had fanned the woman when there was power outage.
Although she told The Punch she dozed off, she explained that she was exhausted by the time power was restored, but Momodu instructed her to iron the clothes.
Her boss’ arrest, however, came after one of Egbadon’s teachers noticed the injuries and reported the incident to the police at the Aswani division.
Following her arrest, Momodu said the housemaid injured herself with the iron out of fear when she chided her for dosing. She added that she had wanted to take her back home but her father refused.
Momodu said, “She was sleeping and I asked her how she could be sleeping while ironing. It was that shock that led to all this.
“I did not know she informed her teacher. The iron fell on her. I did not do it. I did not tell her to fan me,” she said.
Meanwhile, on her part, the teenager said, “My mum divorced my dad about six years ago and she is now in Benin. She left my three siblings and I with him. When he could not take care of us, he gave me to madam who is our relative.
“On Sunday, she said it was stuffy and told me to fan her. When the electricity was restored, she told me to iron her children’s clothes. I was sleepy while ironing the clothes.
“She said I wanted to burn the clothes, collected the iron and placed it on my hand and thigh. Her husband is not aware of the way she treats me. He lives in Abuja and comes home once in a while.
“Whenever we travel home, she is kind to me in the presence of my father. I want to go back home,” Egbadon said as she sobbed.
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