Residents of a coastal settlement in Bayelsa State have been left shocked after 59-year-old step-grandfather, Mr. Ziworitin Keke, ‘erroneously’ cut off half of the genitals of an eight-month-old during circumcision.

It was gathered on Thursday that the victim, a step-grandson to Keke, is receiving medical care at the Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa, Bayelsa capital.

The incident happened at Ondewari, a rural community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

Keke was said to be circumcising the baby boy when he inadvertently chopped off half of his genitals.

Community sources expressed surprise at the development given the reputation and track record of the 59-year-old who has been circumcising infants in the community for many years without any incident.

Mr. Alagoa Morris, a human rights activist, while reacting to the incident said that he was moved by the excruciating pains being undergone by the infant.

According to him, “My first concern is with the baby going through the hearth chilling pains, the man who performed the circumcision is a renowned traditional circumcision expert in the community and even beyond.

“He has successfully carried out the service at no cost to parents for many years, including two elder brothers of the victim, and this must have been a mistake, as more than 1,000 circumcisions have been without any complication.

“So calls for his arrest is misplaced, a lot of our community residents have no access to medical facilities and they believe and resort to traditional medicines, traditional birth attendants inclusive.

“It is imperative for the state and local governments to join forces and make orthodox medical service available to rural dwellers in the coastlines and riversides, only then will the people have a choice.”

The father of the victim, Mr. Joseph Michael, said that the incident had thrown him into financial distress as he cannot afford the cost of medical services adding that his wife had taken the child to a health centre following the mishap.

“After cutting off my boy’s penis, the man who is married to my son’s grandmother told my wife to leave the child with him for at least three weeks so that he could treat him very well. But my wife refused because the boy was bleeding and she rushed him to the health centre at Korokorosei a neighbouring community to us,” he said.

Michael explained that they were referred to the Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa for specialised medical care.

He appealed to public-spirited individuals to come to his aid to save the life of his son.

Meanwhile, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) in Bayelsa has called for the arrest and prosecution of Ziworitin.

Dise Ogbise-Erhisere, chairperson of FIDA in the state, who made the call after visiting the victim at the FMC with some non-governmental organisations, said they had petitioned the office of the commissioner of police on the matter.

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