A breastfeeding mother, Zara Muhammad, has been hospitalised after she was allegedly severely burnt with hot water by her stepmother in the Kofa area of Maiduguri, Borno State.
The incident reportedly followed a verbal argument between the two women on Sunday.
A neighbour, also identified as Zara, said residents were alerted by the victim’s screams.
“I rushed to the house and found the stepmother pressing the girl onto the spilled hot water. I scolded her and used all my strength to pull her away. Unfortunately, she had already suffered severe burns before we rescued her,” she said.
Residents alleged that the victim had faced hardship since becoming pregnant after her lover reportedly abandoned her.
They said her parents had allegedly pressured her to terminate the pregnancy, but she refused. Following the birth of her child, neighbours claimed she was subjected to starvation and maltreatment whenever there was a disagreement.
Narrating her ordeal, Zara Muhammad said the incident started after her daughter attempted to enter her stepmother’s room.
According to her, the stepmother stopped the toddler, prompting her to intervene and take her daughter away.
She said the tension continued for three days before her stepmother allegedly threatened to stop providing food for them.
“When I replied that God would provide for me and my little girl, she rushed at me and pressed me into the boiling water she had spilled on the ground,” she said.
Witnesses alleged that after the attack, the victim was left in pain without adequate medical attention.
But the victim’s father denied allegations of neglect or covering up for his wife, saying, “She was even taken to hospital.”
Following intervention by the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Zuweira Gambo, a response team evacuated the victim to a medical facility for treatment. The stepmother was arrested and placed in security custody.
