PANDEMONIUM BROKE OUT IN IKORODU OVER CIRCUMCISION OF A MINOR

Pandemonium broke out at No 3 Adelaja Street in Ikorodu area of Lagos when a heated disagreement ensued between one middle age woman and her hubby’s family as they stood to put her little girl through circumcision.

It was in the early hours of Friday 26th July, 2019 when Mrs. Zainab Abosede Osholonge cried out for help as some members of the Osholonge family arrived her home with a stranger and forcefully took her young  daughter away for circumcision.

Aliat Osholonge, a minor was about to be defiled through circumcision in the name of family rituals at No 40 Osholonge compound, Aga Ikorodu, when her mother cried out and the family members in return that were out to protect their cultural belief as regards female circumcision in the family resisted and a big fight ensued.

We learnt that it was neighbours around that came to rescue the innocent girl from the hands of her assailant.

When our correspondent visited the family house in Ikorodu, the head of the family Chief Tajudeen Osholonge in his explanation said; “It’s a must to carry out circumcision on every girl in the family because it is our tradition; and failure to do so could cause great harm to the family. Like every other child of the family, Aliat too must undergo it.” He said.

The father of the girl Mr. Rilwan Adeyemi Osholonge on his part refused to comment on the issue. We learnt from a reliable source that he could be disowned by the family if they discover he is in support of his wife’s stand against the family tradition.

According to the mother of the little girl, Zainab Abosede, she said, “We have done all we could to dissuade them from the act but the family has been adamant in preserving their barbaric culture. They have been out to dehumanise my little girl; all in the name of cultural practice.”

She said that though the case was reported at Igbogbo police station Ikorodu in Lagos, where the matter is being investigated.

We learnt that the little girl and her mother have quietly moved away from the area, while the family is still bent in carrying out the circumcision in order to protect the sanctity of their belief.

It will be recalled that Female genital mutilation is widely recognized as a violation of human rights, which is deeply rooted in cultural beliefs and perceptions over decades and generations with no easy task for change.

FGM is widely practiced in Nigeria, and it has been described as an act which involved partial or total removal of the external female genitalia whether for cultural or any other non-therapeutic reasons.