The two German shepherd dogs belonging to a landlord that attacked a four-year-old Omonigho Abraham in the Igando area of Lagos were on Tuesday, October 21, 2014, paraded by the Lagos State Police Command in Ikeja, the state capital.
The victim who is still receiving medical care with a bandaged head and some scars on his face insisted that the dogs be killed for tearing his scalp and causing him much pains.
While explaining why they paraded the dogs, the state commissioner of police, Cornelius Aderanti, said it was to prove to people that the dogs were not yet released as speculated by some people adding that the ruling of the court will determine the fate of the dogs whether to be killed or set free.
Aderanti said, “We have brought the dogs out so that the public would know that they are still in police custody. They have been examined and they show no negative trait. It is only the court that will decide what happens to them. The police cannot decide to kill the dogs.”
Medical examinations carried out by a veterinary police officer, Yahaya Usman, proved the dogs were free from diseases although the victim is still at the Burns and Plastic Wards of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Punch reports.
The commissioner further said, “Initially, we quarantined the dogs and wanted to find out whether the dogs had any disease or not. That was the first step taken by the police. The dogs were under our watch for weeks.
“So far, they have not shown any negative trait. The medical history shows that they don’t have rabies or the Ebola Virus Disease. The dogs are with us, and only the court will determine what happens to them.”
Meanwhile, the victim’s father, Mr. Odiah Abraham, disclosed that other people leaving around their area had also suffered attack from the dogs.
He said, “Three days to the incident, a woman who lives in the neighbourhood had gone downstairs to spread her clothes on the line. She had left and was approaching her room when the dogs broke out of their cage and pursued her. She was just lucky that she was close to her room, if not they would have bitten her.
“She ran in and shut the door against herself. The dogs stood at the gate for some time and when they saw she did not open, they ran back to their cage. My wife met the dog’s owner and told him to do something about the dogs, as there were little children within the neighbourhood, but he just ignored the warning.”
The court charged the owner of the dogs Mr. Stanley Wesley, for negligence although he has been bailed.
