A 35-year old woman, Eudora Michael, has accused her 59-year-old stepfather, Ziworitin Keke of deliberately cutting off the penis of her nine-month-old baby during circumcision.
The incident happened at Odenwari village in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The baby is currently receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.
Mrs. Michael, a mother of eight, said she was convinced her stepfather chopped off the baby’s genitals out of malice. Michael told reporters at the hospital that she and her husband had no plan to circumcise the baby yet because he was ill at birth.
But her stepfather woke from sleep on the day of the incident with the message that she should bring the baby for circumcision.
She said,
“It was not a mistake, as being speculated. I carried the baby to him, and he cut off his genitals completely. I checked the length, am sad because I did not inform my husband before taking the boy for circumcision.”
“My baby cries much more than two other babies he had circumcised without complications.”
After the incident, Mrs. Michael said she suspected her son’s health was in danger when her stepfather asked that she should leave the boy with him for three weeks.
She said she refused and took her to a health center at Krokrosei. According to her, her stepfather has never been a model of good behavior.
She said,
“My stepfather raped my 13-year-old daughter and got her pregnant. “The product of that sinful act, a baby boy, is with my mother as we speak. “This time, he wants my son to die. He has been carrying out circumcision for long. Why is it that my son is the one who now has his penis cut away?”
Mrs Michael, however said she did not report the rape of her 13- year old daughter to the Police. She said the church where her father served as a minister punished him with a two-year suspension.