By Udo Akam-Alo, ABAKALIKI
Sequel to intercession of the International Federation of Female Lawyers, FIDA, Ebonyi state chapter, a child delivered of in prison about two years ago, has been handed over to the father, Mr Amadi Onwe.
The Chairperson of FIDA in Ebonyi State, Mrs Grace Iheanacho Chima, told newsmen that the child was discovered to be with his accused mother in the prison when they visited in November, 2019 and thus, decided to intercede following the permission of the Comptroller of the correctional Service centre.
She noted that the child, being delivered of in prison, has no sense of family upbringing and as such described such environment as unhealthy for the child, educationally and otherwise.
Her words, “We came here to rescue a child that is 2years of age whom the mother gave birth to here, the mother was arrested for murder case.
“Sometimes in the month of November, 2019, we discovered that the little child was in prison with the mother. We weren’t comfortable with that and so we decided to visit the Comptroller of the Correctional Service that time. Then, they assured us that if we are able to find their family, we can come back for the child to be released.
“The child is almost 2 years getting to 3 years, no education; he is not in school and he doesn’t know his siblings. The only environment the child is responding to is prison’s environment. It is not good for a child.
“But now that we have handed the child over to the father, we will monitor everything to ensure that the child is enrolled in a school when the COVID-19 is over; FIDA will see to it that the he is given proper upbringing.”
On the part of the accused mother, Barr. Grace promised that the Female Lawyers in the state will plead her course.
“We will make sure we see the DPP and do the needful concerning separating her from other accused persons and we are also going to make sure we monitor that this child is given proper upbringing,” she reiterated.
Speaking on her experience with the mother and child, the Comptroller of the Correctional Service, Ebonyi state Command, Emilia Adaobi Oputa, said that the accused came with pregnancy and that she is undergoing emotional trauma, whereas taking care of the child has been a difficult task and urged FIDA to ensure that they work towards reaching out to the complainant and get justice for the accused.
The father of the child and husband of the accused, Mr. Amadi Onwe, confirmed that his wife was pregnant before her arrest.
“I came to pick my child, they came and arrested my woman, saying that he is aware of some murderers and before they came to arrest her, she was pregnant. When they came to arrest her, she told them that she doesn’t know those people but they still brought her here and she finally put to bed here,” he said.
FIDA later handed over some materials including 25kg bag of rice, textile materials and an undisclosed amount of money to the family of Onwe Amadi.
