New Telegraph

Teenage boy thrown into fire for stealing rice

Two men, Mr. Paul Ifere Amah and Mr. Paul Nweke, have been apprehended for allegedly throwing a 13-year-old boy, Ifeanyi Umoke, into fire for stealing rice in Ebonyi State. The Chairman, Human Rights Defenders (HURIDE), Ebonyi State, Mr. Sampson Oko Nweke, said Umoke was from Inikiri Benard village, Effium community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. Nweke said that the boy’s mother was late, while his father was bedridden following an illness.

He said: “Ifeanyi was caught trying to steal rice in a village market. He was tied up and then thrown into a burning fire in a refuse dump in the market. He began to burn like a goat.” Nweke explained that he got to know about the incident a few days ago from Mr. George Etamesor of the Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Centre (HRCRC).

He said: “Mr. Paul Ifere Amah and Mr. Paul Nweke, both from the same village, after committing this evil, saw the critical condition of their victim, yet left him groaning. It took the intervention of sympathisers to rush him to Amurt Hospital in Effium. But due to the severity of the burnt, the boy was rejected.

Efforts were thereafter made to take him to AEFETHA2 where he is currently battling between life and death.” The activist explained that when HURIDE interrogated the perpetrators, they alleged that the victim had been in the habit of stealing cassava, yam and other items.

So, this time around, when they caught him stealing their rice, they decided to teach him a lesson. According to them, the lesson should be such that Ifeanyi would never steal from them again. “It was not our intention to burn his whole body. We only tied him up and after beating him, we tried to roast his toes in the fire. But because he was struggling, he slipped out of our hands and fell into the fire. Thereafter, he got burnt beyond our expectation,” they reportedly said. Nweke said that human rights activists had communicated the abuse to the police.

Read Previous

Internet fraud: LAUTECH final year student bags 12 months jail

Read Next

Man jailed 14 years for defiling 11-year-old girl

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *