How An Archaic African Custom Landed A Nigerian Woman In Jail

A nanny from Nigeria convicted in February, 2019, of killing an 8-month-old baby girl, Enitan Salubi, in 2016 has been sentenced to 15 years in prison at Prince George’s County, U.S

73-year old Oluremi Adeleye was captured on CCTV unscrewing the lid of Enitan’s bottle and pouring around eight ounces of milk down her throat in less than 30 seconds, “essentially drowning her."

Many Africans still engage in forcing a baby to eat by placing the infant on their laps, tuck in the hands and pour liquid food content in the mouth with the mouth raised. With such a practice, the child does not have a say if he's satisfied or not. On many occasions, children vomit immediately after being forced to eat.

The video also shows the baby going limp and Adeleye rocking her. Adeleye was found guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree and second-degree child abuse.

She was sentenced to 40 years in prison with all but 15 years suspended in addition to five years supervised probation upon release.

The convict testified in her own defense at her trial. She said she was “cup-feeding” the baby to ensure it didn’t go hungry, a custom in Nigeria.

Adeleye had others testify in her defense, saying that cup-feeding — pouring liquid in one’s hand to feed children when they do not want to eat but need to be fed — was common in Nigeria. Although not many deaths resulting from such practices has been recorded, cases such as Oluremi should send a signal to folks who seem to be lost in custom than reason. Parents and guardians must ensure that baby sitters and nannies they employ are 'uncustomed' to avoid stories that touch.

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