A man identified as Saviour Aniefok has allegedly beaten and tortured his 7-year-old son, Nathaniel, to death over a piece of fish in the Shangisha area of Magodo Phase 2, Lagos State.
Saviour, who is said to be on the run, reportedly tortured Nathaniel to death on the allegation that he stole a piece of fish belonging to one of his customers.
According to Punch, Saviour had fixed a faulty microwave oven for one of his customers, who gave him a piece of fish to test it after repair.
It was learnt that the suspect forgot to return the fish while delivering the repaired microwave to the customer so he took it home for preservation.
Speaking on the incident, one of the neighbours said they heard Nathaniel crying for help when his father was beating him, adding that Saviour was fond of torturing the boy and his brother, Charles.
“I still saw Nathaniel on Sunday afternoon. In fact, I gave him snacks to eat. Around 10pm, we started to hear Nathaniel shouting and crying for help; we also heard loud bangs on the floor and wall indicating that he was being beaten.
“As he was crying, Saviour was telling him to shut up. I personally thought their stepmother was at home to caution him. But later, we got to know she had travelled. Surprisingly, I heard Nathaniel died the following day,” the neighbour said.
Saviour Aniefok Tried To Conceal His Son’s Death
Another neighbour said the father facilitated the deceased’s burial the following day, adding that he went into hiding and took Charles along to conceal the crime.
“I was told his father said he was sick; someone that I saw playing in the compound. The injuries he sustained during the torture must have been responsible for his death. We only saw Saviour on two separate occasions after his son died. We have also not seen the stepmother of the children.
“We learnt that the police have arrested his brother but we don’t know if Saviour has been arrested. I have seen him torturing one of the boys to the point of carrying the boy up and slamming him to the ground,” the neighbour said.
A third neighbour told the publication that he saw Saviour and three other persons attempting to convey Nathaniel to a location in the state around 4am.
“I saw Nathaniel lying naked in the back seat of Saviour’s car. I observed that a pain relief substance had been used to massage his body because I smelt it. I was on my way to work when I saw them.”
“I Didn’t Torture My Son To Death” – Saviour Aniefok
When contacted, Saviour denied torturing his son to death, adding that Nathaniel was fleeing from being disciplined for stealing his customer’s fish when he fell and smashed his head on tiles.
“I didn’t torture my son to death. After I returned from church on Sunday, I got home and realised my customer’s fish had been touched. I asked who touched it and Charles said he was not the one. I asked Nathaniel, but he also denied it. I was going inside my room when Nathaniel thought I wanted to get a cane and as he attempted to run, he fell and hit his head on the tiles.
“I observed he was behaving strangely around 2am, so I quickly rushed him to a nearby hospital but it was locked. I rushed him to another hospital in Ketu, where he was referred to another hospital, but he died.
“I didn’t go into hiding; my mother was sick, and I came home with my other child to see her and tell her what happened. I wanted to return to Lagos today but the IPOB stay-at-home order prevented me”.
It was gathered that some good Samaritans contacted the Child Protection Unit of the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, which informed the Isheri Police Division to investigate the case.
KanyiDaily had also reported how a woman was arrested for allegedly conspiring with four others to murder her 19-year-old stepson over N100,000 debt in Akwa Ibom.
