By: Special Correspondent.

Police at the Criminal Investigation Department, CID, of the Borno state Police Command, are still trying to unravel circumstances surrounding an unprovoked attack with boiling oil, on a young lady by her stepmother.
Innitial findings reveal that, a 34 year old woman, names withheld had in a bizarre show of jealousy and anger, poured boiling groundnut oil, over the face of her stepchild.
Local sources told our correspondent that, the victim, Fatima Talba Alkali, was billed to be married off in a month time.
Fatima, whose mother had been divorced earlier is now lying critically at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), ward.
Our correspondent who visited her, could not speak with her, but her sister who has been attending to her said, the attack was unprovoked, as according to her, Fatima had only gone to pay homage on the stepmother, having spent the night in a neighbours house, only to end up with the hot oil bath.
Besides pouring her the hot oil, the stepmother allegedly went on to stab Fatima several times with a knife.

Fatima grew up with her mother after her parents separated.
Our correspondent learnt, and had already been dethroned.
Sources said she had gone to await when her would-be groom would come to formalize arrangements for the wedding with her father, in accordance with traditional procedures.
She has been with her mother, who lives separately from the father, but returned to her father’s home in Jiddari Galtimari of Jere Local Government Area of Borno State to accord the father his due respect in the marriage procedures.
The father, Mallam Talba Alkali, confirmed to us that the processes had been smooth and date fixed for the wedding, until the stepmother’s opposition to Fatima’s continued stay in her fathers house.
The stepmother reportedly insisted that Fatima must return to her mother, where the remaining rites would be concluded.
Sge was quoted as saying her vehemence stems from her intolerance to play host for the marriage rites of another woman’s daughter.
But Mallam Talba’s refusal to send his daughter, Fatima, away led to heated arguments, as a result of which the stepmother was sent divorced for the first time, in acvordance with Islamic doctrine.
Several entreaties by her parents, when she was first sacked, did not seem to soften her bitterness, and she returned nursing the evil plot to harm Fatima.
A day before she unleashed her anger, there was a heated quarrel between Fatima, her sister, and the stepmother, during which the latter allegedly vowed to kill them both. In apparent fear of their safety, Fatima and her sister were asked to relocate to a neighbours house for the night.
On returning to their fathers house the following morning, unknown to anybody, the stepmother had boiled two bottles of groundnut oil which were neant for frying beans cake. And when Fatima and her sister came in to greet her, she threw the boiling oil over Fatima’s face.
Fatima fell down screaming, her skin peeling off, while her sister stood rooted in shock.
The stepmother, according to accounts given to the police, went on to pull out a knife, which she had kept handy and stabbed Fatima repeatedly.
The attendant commotion attracted people, including Fatimas younger brother, who rushed in to rescue and to prevent further damage on Fatima.
The father, who is a retired civil servant, but now works with a private school, told the Police that, he had tried everything to keep peace in his home, but his wife has been recalcitrant.
He recalled having to handle many past cases between the wife and her stepdaughter and even sacked her once.
“I have warned her many times not to temper with my children, but to treat them as her own children but she refused and created more troubles”.

“When I divorced her for the first time, she said she will leave but threatened to do something bad, which we never thought this was it’ Talba lamented.
He claimed to have reported her threats to the police, so that if anything happened, there would be witnesses against her, but she was not dettered.
Talba narrated how, on the fateful Saturday, while away at work, he received a phone call from his daughter, asking him to return home urgently.

And upon his return Talba reported to GRA police station first before rushing her to General Hospital, and subsequently to the Teaching Hospital based on the advice of community leaders.

Police in Naiduguri confirmed
that the embattled stepmother who is carrying a two months pregnancy is in custody at the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Borno State Police Headquarters in Maiduguri.