The Women Arise for Change Initiative has demanded justice for an aged woman allegedly maltreated by her 50-year-old daughter, Ukamaka Udeugbo, in Umudunu village, Abagana, in Njikoka local government area of Anambra.

The chairman of the Initiative in Anambra, Vincent Ezekwueme, while condemning the act in Enugu, called the action of the woman satanic, devilish, inhuman, and inconceivable.

”We earnestly hope that she will eventually be prosecuted after a thorough investigation to serve as a deterrent for some people like her in our communities, especially rural communities,” Mr Ezekwueme. “We appeal to Governor Chukwuma Soludo to constitute an investigative panel to unravel the circumstances surrounding the evil perpetrated against the elderly woman by her daughter.”

The group’s leader stressed that the woman should be “suspended or removed from her leadership position in the church and community/village to act as a deterrent to others and to protect the integrity and image of these institutions.”

Mr Ezekwueme commended those who drew public attention to the plight of the elderly woman through a viral social media video at the weekend.

“It is a serious crime before God and mankind for a senior citizen who is expected to enjoy the fruits of her labour to be subjected to such unprecedented assault, agony, and excruciating pains by her own daughter, who is supposed to take proper care of her,” he said.

He suggested that Ms Udeugbo be subjected to a psychiatric test to ascertain her state of mind.

Mr Ezekwueme commended the Abagana community, transition committee chairman Njikoka council area, Abagana vigilante, the police, and the Anambra government for living up to expectations and ensuring her arrest and detention.

Confirming the incident, police spokesperson Ikenga Tochukwu said the commissioner of police, Aderemi Adeoye, had directed the transfer of the case to the state CID and the handing over of the victim to the Commissioner for Women Affairs for adequate care.

He said, “Men of Anambra Police Command Operatives attached to Abagana Division, on July 15, 2023, rescued an aged woman being cruelly treated by another woman at Umudunu village, Abagana. The suspect, Ukamaka Udeugbo ‘F’ aged 50, turned out to be her biological daughter in a video clip that went viral.”

The officer added, “The suspect who flogged the naked, aged woman repeatedly and threw buckets of water on her while lying on the floor has been arrested and detained for prosecution. The suspect is to be arraigned in court at the end of the investigation.”

(NAN)