The Lagos State Police command has arrested a father, identified simply as Benson, for allegedly flogging his son to death with a belt.
It was gathered that Benson, an indigene of Ishan in Edo State, allegedly beat up Bright, his 16-year-old son, to death after the teenager was accused of stealing N1,200.
It was learnt that Benson, who had divorced his wife, was living on Olanrewaju Street, Oregun, Ikeja, with his two sons – Bright and Samuel, 14 years – when the incident happened.
Samuel told our correspondent that on Sunday evening, his father beat up his elder brother in anger because of the accusation against him. He added that Bright had been ill before the beating.
He said, “Bright has been sick for some days before that Sunday. Initially in the morning, Dad was looking for Bright, but could not find him. Later in the evening, Bright showed up with some boys on our street who told our father that Bright had stolen N1,200 from them.
“Truly, dad found the money in his pocket, but I think he stole it because he was hungry that day.
“My father was very angry on discovering the money in Bright’s pocket. He returned the money to the owners, and after they left, tied Bright’s hands with a rope. He then began to beat him with the iron end of his belt.”
Samuel noted that his father, who suffered from partial blindness, must have unintentionally hit Bright, who was still battling with a sickness, in the wrong place.
“I think it was the anger that made my daddy to make that mistake. The reason is because as soon as he did not hear Bright’s cries again, dad stopped beating him, carried him on his shoulders and rushed him to a private hospital near our house. But he was said to be dead when we got to the hospital,” he added.
However, Benson’s neighbours told our correspondent that the man, despite his eyes’ problem, had the habit of beating his children with any object.
One of the neighbours, who identified herself simply as Oluwaseun, explained that the man began beating the boy around 9pm, adding that Bright’s pleas for mercy fell on the dad’s deaf ears.
She said, “The man is simply a wicked man. He does not relate with people. The boy he killed usually takes him to church every Sunday because of his eyes’ problem. So, on that Sunday, he could have become angry that the boy left home and refused to take him to church.”
Another resident on the street, who craved anonymity, said Benson had a history of violence in the area.
“I was living in the house before. On one occasion when we were still living together, we had a small disagreement over where to spread clothes in the backyard of the house. The next thing was that Benson got a cutlass and chased me. I narrowly escaped from him that day. That was one of the reasons I moved out of that place,” he said.
It was learnt that Bright’s remains had been deposited at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Ikeja mortuary for autopsy.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, confirmed that the case was under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba.
