Disciplinary Action Gone Wrong: UK-based Nigerian doctor loses son’s custody
A Nigerian doctor based in the United Kingdom has lost custody of his 16-year-old son to the government after disciplining him with a belt.
The incident came to light through a child rights advocate known as pepstalk1 on her Instagram page on Wednesday.
According to her account, the Nigerian doctor punished his son after discovering him and his friends watching an inappropriate video at their home where they had gathered to study together.
It was reported that the son’s friends, who were also present during the incident, alerted the police and informed them about the father’s disciplinary actions. They claimed that while the father was administering the punishment with a belt, he repeatedly stated, “Is this how you want to become a doctor?”
The child rights advocate shared further details, saying, “Two months ago, two friends of a Nigerian doctor’s son came over to his residence to spend the night and study together ahead of their General Certificate of Secondary Education examination. At 3 am that night, the doctor quietly entered the boy’s room and caught them watching an inappropriate video. In response, the father became angry and disciplined his son with a belt in front of his friends.”
“The two friends immediately ran out of the room to call the police, who arrived at the scene and took the boy into their custody. The case later went to court, and during the proceedings, the friends testified that they heard the father saying, ‘Is this how you want to become a doctor?’ while administering the punishment.”
“The boy also revealed that his father frequently used physical force to make him study subjects he didn’t want to pursue. The father had insisted that his son should study medicine at the university.”
“Subsequently, the court ruled that the doctor’s 16-year-old son be taken into the care of custody and he would no longer be allowed to return to his father’s house.”
