Grief and rage have swallowed a street in Igando after 10-year-old Faith — an adopted child — was allegedly beaten to death by the couple meant to protect her.
Paul Onyeama and Adline Ogbonna, Faith’s guardians on Jemesi Papa Street, are now in police custody. Neighbours say years of cruelty exploded on Sunday in a final, fatal beating.
Residents describe Faith’s short life as a cycle of blows and crushing errands no child should bear. Even when she fell ill two weeks ago, the abuse didn’t stop, said Adekunle Taofeek, a neighbour.
“The couple had been consistently maltreating the girl. Even when she became sick, they didn’t stop. On Sunday, they allegedly beat her severely, and she died,” Taofeek said.
Sources say the couple took Faith’s lifeless body to a hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival. The horror didn’t end there.
Another resident, speaking anonymously, said the couple brought the child’s corpse back home and carried on as if nothing happened. “The wife was even seen cooking the next morning like nothing happened. It was residents who became concerned and eventually discovered the child had died,” the source said.
Alarm spread when neighbours realized Faith had vanished. Youths in the area intervened, stopping what one resident called an attempt by the husband to quietly dispose of the body. They held the couple until police arrived.
Officers from the Igando Division arrested Onyeama and Ogbonna and recovered Faith’s body. A police source said the suspects claimed she died in the hospital, but “preliminary findings indicated that she was already dead before being taken to the facility.” The case will move to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, for further probe.
Taofeek, who is also the state coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, said he contacted a doctor at the hospital who confirmed the child was brought in dead. He vowed to see justice done.
As of Tuesday morning, Lagos Police spokesperson Abimbola Adebisi had not responded to calls or messages.
Faith’s death rips open a fresh wound in Lagos. In April 2025, a father in Ojo allegedly beat his daughter to death. Now another child is gone — adopted, abused, and allegedly killed in the home that should have kept her safe.
Ten years old. Adopted for love. Buried by betrayal.
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