A UK-based Nigerian doctor has reportedly lost custody of his 16-year-old son to the government after flogging him with a belt.
Pep Iredia, the child rights advocate, in an Instagram video, said the doctor was taken to court for beating his child for “watching an improper video”.
Iredia said friends of the boy — who were on a visit — thereafter reported the incident to the police who “came that night and took the boy away”.
She added that the boy accused his father of hitting him over his choice of career.
“Two friends of a Nigerian doctor’s son two months ago came over to the doctor’s residence to sleep over and study in preparation for their General Certificate of Secondary Education examination,” she said in the video.
“At 3 am in the night, the doctor tip-toed into the boy’s room and caught them watching an improper video, the father got angry with his son and beat him with a belt in front of his friends.
“The two friends ran out of the scene to call the police and they came over and took the boy away. The case was later held in court and during the session, the friends said that they heard the father saying that ‘Is this how you want to become a doctor’ while beating his son?
“The boy also said that his father was always beating him to study the subject that he does not want. His father want him to study medicine at the university.
“The court later ruled that the doctor’s 16-year-old son be taken into custody care and can no longer go back to his father’s house.”
According to section 58 Children Act 2004 in the UK, it is unlawful for a parent to smack their child, except where this amounts to “reasonable punishment”.
Whether a “smack” amounts to reasonable punishment will depend on the circumstances of each case, taking into consideration factors like the age of the child and the nature of the smack.
– Cable