The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, DSVA, has arrested a man for allegedly inflicting bodily injuries on his 11-year-old son for his inability to recite the Holy Quran.
Its spokesperson, Mrs Joke Ladenegan-Oginni stated on Saturday in Lagos that the man had been detained at Meiran Division of the Nigeria Police Force.
The assault on the 11-year-old went viral in the social media as his body showed welts received from belt whips leading to excessive bleeding.
Ladenegan-Oginni stated that DSVA received the report from a concerned citizen on repeated assaults on the child.
“The agency received a report from a journalist of an 11-year-old male who was physically assaulted by his father.
“The DSVA gathered that the father meted the assault because the boy had not been able to recite the Holy Quran.
“Following repeated assaults, the boy has haematuria (blood in urine), two episodes of loss of consciousness, bleeding from the ears and nostrils,’’ she stated.
Ladenegan-Oginni disclosed that the child is receiving medical attention facilitated by the Lagos State Ministry of Health and the state’s Primary Health Care Board.
She advised members of the public to report all cases of abuse, assault and sexual violence against persons to the agency for justice to be served.
