Nigerian
couple who beat their kids jailed 14 yrs in London
What most Nigerians culturally do by using
corporal punishment to correct their children when they do wrong and go scot
free has become the albatross for two Nigerian couples resident in the United Kingdom. For
beating their six children with brooms, hoovers and wires and even giving their
baby a morphine overdose after childbirth, the Nigerian couple have been jailed
for seven years each in London, with the UK press
calling them all sorts of names.
But
the Nigerian married couple denied the allegations, claiming the children were
victims of a racist witch-hunt. They were, however, found guilty of cruelty to
a person under 16.
The
parents convicted of a decade long campaign of abuse against their six children
were jailed for seven years each yesterday.
The
Nigerian couple, which the paper said claimed their kids were possessed by evil
spirits, were found guilty after Coronation
Street star Michelle Collins gave evidence against
them.
The
parents argued that the children had been 'brainwashed' into making the
allegations by the police, the London Borough of Haringey and Miss Collins who
they said 'wanted to steal' them, UK's Green Crown Court heard.
Jurors
rejected the parents conspiracy theories. When they are released, they face
deportation back to Nigeria
– despite pleas from their legal team that they have been 'punished enough' by
having their children taken into care.
As
they left the court, the paper said the couple wailed: 'We are innocent, this
is a miscarriage of justice.'
The
couple were accused of beating their children with brooms, hoovers and wires
and even giving their baby a morphine overdose just days after her first
birthday.
A
report published in UK's
Daily Mail said five of the children were rescued after their eldest daughter
threw a heart-wrenching SOS note out of a window.
The
report said it was not until their one-year-old baby was given a morphine
overdose over a year later that police reopened the case which led to their
prosecution.
The
paper said the plight of the children was so bad that Miss Collins, who met
them at a church lunch, took them to the cinema 'because she felt sorry for
them'.
The
Miss Collins gave evidence as a prosecution witness during the trial of the
parents, both 40, who could not be named to protect their six children.
Sentencing
them to seven years behind bars each, Judge James Patrick described it as
'shocking mistreatment' that they had tried to cover up with a 'web of
deception'.
Judge
Patrick said: "No-one who sat through this trial could help but be moved
by the fact that these intelligent, charming, fun, lovable children continue to
love you despite what you put them through.
"You
alleged a conspiracy involving a well-known actress, who had done nothing but
show your family generosity and kindness, a member of a housing charity, social
workers and foster carers.
"Those
who had taken the trouble to support you were repeatedly accused of dishonesty,
lying, and conspiracy to rob you of your children when the reality was that
both of you were lying – in fact they ware simply seeking to give your children
stability."
But
the parents claimed they were victims of a conspiracy – and even alleged Miss
Collins was involved in a witch hunt against them and wanted to 'steal' their
children.
One
of the youngsters, a baby at the time, had been allowed to stay in the home by
Haringey council, who were involved in other case called the Baby P and
Victoria Climbie cases, despite the fact the five other children had to be
rescued.
The
abuse reportedly came to the attention of police in April 2010 when their
nine-year-old wrote an SOS note and threw it out of her bedroom window.
The
heart-breaking plea read: 'My mum is the worst mum ever because she can't cope
with five of us, her broken hand and being pregnant. She always leaves me out
so I always starve and I am forced to work.
'If
I don't get enough house work done, I am beaten without mercy with the wooden
end of a broom. I have scars all over me to prove it. I can't stay here. I
would like a new mum.'
It
was found by a neighbour who called the police, and when officers attended the
address they found the children living in messy conditions with 'dirty' and
'dishevelled' clothing.
Revealing
scars the eldest said her mother had hit her with a cable, a broom, and a
hoover and her father had dangled her by her feet down the stairwell of the
house, tied her hands behind her back and her legs together 'to get the
devilish spirits out', prosecutor Emma Smith said.
Her
sister, who was seven at the time, had a stick shaped bruise of her thigh and
after a few months in care, she drew a series of pictures showing her dad
beating her and her being left home alone and including a speech bubble saying
'I'm hungry.'
The
children were left home alone for hours, sometimes days on end, with the elder
kids forced to look after the others.
They
had even been forced to lie to a charity and social services that they were
living alone with their mother in one room and had no idea who their dad was so
they could scam benefits.
Even
during the trial the eldest feared she had torn her family apart with her
'devastating cry from the heart in the form of a letter which she threw from
the window', the judge noted.
There
was an investigation but no further action, and the five children remained in
care until the parents once again came to police attention on 28 June last
year, when they gave their baby an overdose.
'But
for the events of June 28 you would have gotten away with your crimes because
of a merciful decision not to prosecute you', Judge Patrick noted.
The
couple's sixth child, a baby girl, the report said, was also initially taken
into care but then returned to her parents. They took her to St Thomas's Hospital just days after her
first birthday last year.
The
paper went on to say that without treatment, the baby could have died but doctors
managed to save the youngster, who it is believed was given morphine orally
that morning.
Nigerian Tribune
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