Boy, 13, rescued after year-long starvation by stepmother

A 13-year-old boy, who was allegedly kept isolated, starved and sometimes beaten by his stepmother for more than a year, has been rescued by officials of an interest group, human right activists and the police in Borno State.

The victim, Umar Danladi,  was found suffering from speech disorder and acute malnutrition as a result of the long stay in an isolated room within his father’s home.

Little Danladi was said to have been left behind by his biological mother in the family house after she was divorced from his father.

The boy was left under the care of two stepmothers in a rented apartment in Maiduguri where officials of the interest group, WINNG, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the police operatives carried out the rescue mission.

A NHRC monitor, Junaid Jibrin Maiva, told Kanem Trust on phone in Maiduguri that the stepmother was arrested, while the other woman had earlier been relocated to another house by their husband.

According to the monitor, the suspect and the victim were taken to a police station where the father and the stepmother were later detained. The boy was later taken to a clinic for treatment.

However, the police spokesman did not reply to text messages sent to him on the matter.