The police in Bayelsa State have arrested a 34-year-old man, Elekele Messiah, for inflicting life-threatening injuries with a knife on his nine-year-old son, Promise Messiah, for eating all the soup in a pot at home in the Edepie area of Yenagoa.

Residents told journalists that following the incident, neighbours beat the man to a pulp before he was rescued by a naval officer who later handed him over to the police.

It was learnt that the residents thereafter contacted members of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) in the state, led by Demo Pamosoo, to take legal action against the man.

It was further gathered that the man, an indigene of Okodi village in Ogbia LGA, took custody of the son from his wife in 2019 with a promise to provide better education for him in the state capital.

A neighbour, who pleaded anonymity, told City & Crime that instead of providing the child with proper education and good living conditions, the father often maltreated the boy, adding that, “Most nights, he leaves the son to sleep on the street whenever he comes home with a woman. The boy is most times left without food for days. It is the neighbours who most times give him something to eat.

“On that fateful day, some neighbours saw a deep cut on Promise’s chest and inquired from the father, but to their surprise, the father said he made razor blade cuts on the son’s chest because the boy stole soup.”

Confirming the incident, FIDA’s Demoosoo said that when they were contacted on the plight and situation of the victim, they took action immediately by giving him medical treatment before reporting the matter to law enforcement agents.

Police spokesman in the state, SP Asinim Butswat, said the father was in police custody. (Daily Trust)