Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 35-year-old mother of two (name withheld) who allegedly locked her fourteen-year-old housemaid inside a toilet and left for church.

According to the command, the maid was said to have been rescued by policemen who broke the toilet door, after a neighbour who felt concerned about the ordeal of the victim reported to the police.

Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, said based on the complaint, the DPO of Ipaja division visited the house at Baruwa estate and forced the door open to rescue the girl.

“During interrogation, the victim told me that since she had been living with her madam, she had been going through one form of maltreatment or the other,’’ Edgal said.

He said police saw various degrees of injuries on the body of the victim, saying on close examination of the girl, wounds of various forms were seen all over the victim’s body.

Edgal called on parents to be careful of who they give their children to.

The suspect, however, said she lock up the victim in the toilet for refusing to follow her to church.

“On the fateful day of the incident when we woke up, I asked her to get prepared so that we can get to church early, but stayed in the toilet doing something else.

“After waiting for her for a while, I went into the toilet to check her only to see her doing some irrelevant things. Out of annoyance I spanked her for avoiding going to church.

“In order to punish her for her action, I locked her inside the toilet and went to church.

“It was when I came back from church that I was told my neighbour reported the incident at Ipaja police station.

“I was told that police broke the door to bring her out of the toilet,’’ she said.

Edgal said the Command Gender Unit was investigating a case of defilement against one Nigerien national who allegedly inserted his fingers into the private part of a 10-year-old girl.

Edgal said a concerned resident who saw stains of blood around the girl’s genital area reported the matter to the police.

He said the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigation was concluded.