The Anambra State Government has taken protective custody of two children allegedly subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation by their mother, as the woman’s husband publicly denied having prior knowledge of the alleged acts.
The children have been placed under the care of the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, where they are receiving protection and support while police investigations continue.
The development followed the arrest of their mother by the Anambra State Police Command over allegations that she sexually abused and exploited the children.
Authorities said the woman remains in police custody while investigators work to establish the full circumstances surrounding the allegations and determine whether any other person was involved.
Amid the growing public attention surrounding the case, the woman’s husband, who identified himself as Ikechukwu Onyeanusia, released a video in which he said he only became aware of the alleged abuse after a friend showed him a video circulating on social media.
According to him, he had left home for his business in the morning and returned later in the evening without any knowledge that such an incident had allegedly occurred.
“I only got to know about this thing when a friend of mine called me that I should come, and I went to him. He now opened his phone and showed me a video. I saw the video. It was my wife, and I saw my daughter,” he said.
Ikechukwu said he was shocked and confused by what he saw in the footage.
“She was molesting the child. I got kind of confused. What is this? What is happening? Could this be true?” he recounted.
He said he immediately wanted to confront his wife, but the friend who showed him the video urged him to calm down.
According to him, when he eventually confronted his wife over the footage, she initially denied wrongdoing and allegedly told him that the video was generated through artificial intelligence.
“I said, ‘I saw your video molesting my daughters. How come this happened?’ She said, ‘No, no, no, that is not true.’ … She said that it’s AI. I said, ‘AI?’” he said.
Ikechukwu further said police officers later arrived at their residence, searched the premises and took them to the police station for questioning.
He claimed that it was at the police station that his wife allegedly admitted that the video was genuine.
According to him, the Divisional Police Officer also asked whether he had prior knowledge of what his wife was allegedly doing to the children, a question he answered in the negative.
He said his wife also told the police that he was unaware of the alleged conduct.
“They asked her, ‘Did your husband know about this?’ And she also said, ‘No, that I didn’t know,’” he recounted.
Ikechukwu said he then directly asked his wife whether she had truly committed the acts shown in the footage and she allegedly answered in the affirmative.
“I got weak. I got tired. How come this kind of a thing can happen? How can you do this kind of a thing?” he said.
He added that he had remained emotionally distressed since the incident and decided to make the video because of the widespread discussion and speculation surrounding the case.
“I’m totally disappointed in my wife. I never believed that she’s going to do this kind of a thing, even to the daughter, to her own daughter and to my own daughter. I never believed it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State Government said its immediate priority was the safety, welfare and protection of the affected children.
The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs has taken responsibility for their care, with the government assuring that the children would be shielded from further harm and provided with appropriate support.
The state government also reaffirmed its commitment to protecting children from sexual abuse, exploitation and other forms of violence, stating that appropriate legal action would be taken against anyone found culpable after investigations.
The allegations against the mother have not yet been determined by a court, and the police investigation remains ongoing.
