A man who was arrested in Edo State for dressing his four-year-old girl in skimpy dresses to dance inappropriately on social media has revealed his motives.
According to him, he dressed her in skimpy dresses and posted the content on her Instagram page in anticipation of her upcoming birthday.
He said part of the strategy was to make his daughter a celebrity.
The father, simply identified as Suleiman, was arrested on Sunday after the controversial posts went viral, sparking outrage and concern for the child’s well-being.
In a video released by the state police command and sighted by PUNCH Online on Tuesday, the father said, “I am used to watching other people’s content creation; comedy, and those other people, so I think that she is too small, so she cannot be doing comedy, so I decided to bring her up in a model way, to be dressing like a model, and to look like a model.”
When pressed further about the appropriateness of his actions, the father revealed his intentions. “This month is her birthday, May 28. So, I wanted to mark her birthday bash on her Instagram.:
The police officer interrogating the father then questioned the morality of his actions, asking, “So, do you think you have done a good thing to the life of that young girl?”
The father responded, “To my understanding, I want her to become a celebrity.”
The incident sparked widespread concern and condemnation from child protection advocates and the public, raising questions about the exploitation of minors as the child, in many videos, has been seen with her father dancing inappropriately among many other things.
The police statement released after the father’s arrest read, “The Edo State Police Command is aware of the trending video of a child of about four years old conspicuously naked and used as adult content in an undisclosed hotel in Auchi, Edo State.
“The Commissioner of Police Edo State Command, CP Funsho Adegboye, immediately drafted a tactical team to go all out and arrest the suspect and his cohort.
“Within 12 hours, the father of the girl was arrested, investigation has commenced further revelation will be made known to the public.”
