There are strong indications that the practice of the unholy traditional circumcision of children in most states of Nigeria has now turned to a death trap for most young children.
Investigation revealed that no fewer than three female minors were reportedly died from complications arising from the circumcision done on these children in Afugiri Umuekule autonomous community, Umuahia, Abia State, South East Nigeria.
This newspaper investigation revealed that among 10 to 15 children that were to be circumcised on 27 December 2024 during the Afugiri Umuekule autonomous community traditional circumcision rituals, three of them who were female could not survive the operation.
It was discovered that three of the female children died after the circumcision due to excess loss of blood as they were bled to death as a result of this botched and illegal operation.
It will be recalled that circumcision is a prevalent practice in Nigeria and most west African countries to circumcise a male or a female child as early as possible after birth to fulfil religious and cultural demands. This usually takes place after the baby is older than two years. Uncircumcised males bear a stigma throughout their lives.
The circumcision rituals in Afugiri Umuekule autonomous community on 27 December 2024 ended up claiming lives of the three female children because of the unhealthy environment couple with inexperienced traditionalists who perform the operation.
Effort to get the Nigeria Police reaction on this tragic incident proved abortive as calls to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the area did not return calls, but sources, who craved for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the issue, revealed that the matter would be covered up because it involved some of the traditional figures in the community.
