On Oct 1 - when right thinking nigerians were either celebrating in public places or hiding for fear of terrorist, the incredible was happening in Enugu, as a
man was busy attacking his family, Alexander Ndubuisi Egeonu set ablaze
members of his family made up of his pregnant wife and two sons aged
between two and three years.
The youngest
son, who went into coma following the injuries he sustained in the
inferno, was later revived at the National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu
two hours after the incident which occurred at about 11a.m while the
wife and the first son are now on danger list at the hospital.
The fleeing father of two, who hails
from Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, according
to eyewitnesses, had, on arrival at his container shop at No. 61 Mount
Street, Awkunanaw, Enugu where he sells musical records and Compact
Discs, asked his wife to escort him to the filling station to buy fuel.
Thinking that the fuel was meant for
their generator, the wife consented, but, shortly after returning to the
shop, Egeonu went to a neighbour’s shop and began to drag the owner (a
woman) to his own shop claiming that she was indebted to him. The woman
began to shout and attracted neighbours and passersby who promptly
rescued her from the man said to be very troublesome.
”Immediately the man returned to his
shop, he tied the hands of his wife and poured the fuel on the floor. He
thereafter locked the wife and his two sons inside the container and
lit matches through the window to ignite it,” the eyewitness said.
The pregnant woman and her two sons were
severely burnt before neighbours forced the container open and brought
them out. They were rushed to the Eastern Nigeria Medical Centre. The
pregnant woman and her first son said to be in critical condition were
later transferred to the National Orthopedic Hospital.
The state Police Public Relations
Officer, PPRO, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the incident, said the
suspect took to his heels after setting his family members ablaze and
has not been found. He said that investigations had commenced to
ascertain the motive of the arsonist, adding that the police would do
everything possible to apprehend the suspect.
The
fleeing Egeonu also a barber, was described as “troublesome” by
residents of the area and had beaten the wife on several occasions on
account of minor disagreements.
A neigbour
said the record and CD seller had, in the past, engaged other tenants in
the area in a bitter quarrel but it was not known if he had a fresh
rift with his wife to warrant yesterday’s incident.
source : Vanguard
