Toddler dies a year after his step-mother chopped off his penis

Dauda Buhari, whose step-mother had chopped off his penis about a year ago when he was just two months old, died of malarial infection recently, the national Child's Right Agency in Niger state said on Wednesday (9 August).

The agency added that the toddler could not be saved despite timely treatment for malaria. It was, however, not clear if his death was linked to the mutilation incident that took place in June 2016.

Buhari had "slight malaria which made his temperature to rise and he died even after he had been administered his prescribed drugs", Mariam Kolo, Director General of the child's right agency, said. The child died in Wada village in Shiroro local government area of the state.

Kolo said that the toddler, who was now over a year old, died when he was due to undergo a genital transplant surgery in the UK. She added that the child was doing very well following a series of corrective surgeries after the mutilation incident.

It is unlikely that the death could be a relapse of the sickness due to the mutilation, Kolo added.

Kolo further said that Buhari's step-mother, Bara'atu Rabiu, is currently in a prison and the legal processes are underway. She added that the woman, who was 17 at the time of committing the horrific crime, never gave a reason for chopping off the toddler's privates, according to Nigeria Post.