A 13 year- old boy identified as Obioma Odum has been reportedly burnt to death, after his mother, Chinyere Odum
allegedly poured kerosene on him and set him ablaze at Umuloghe Agbolughe in Amuzukwu, Umuahia Abia State.
It was gathered Chinyere, who accused her son of stealing her phone’s memory card, together with one her friends tied him with a rope and gave him many strokes of the cane as a way disciplining him.
According an eyewitness account, the two women also dragged the boy into his mother’s kitchen where they reportedly set him ablaze to Stop her neighbours from intervening in the matter.
The source who pleaded anonymity, said that the youths of the community forced the kitchen door open when they saw unusual smoke coming out of the kitchen and found the boy burning to death.
The source said, “The youths recused the boy from the kitchen, after putting out the fire, but by the time the boy was rushed a near by hospital, he was said to have sustained up to 50% burnt injury.
“He was latter referred to Federal medical center Umuahia, where he was also refereed to the University of Nigeria teaching Enugu, before he died in early hours Tuesday 26th, June 2018 at FMC Umuahia.
Father of the deceased, Mr.Obioma Odum, who confirmed the incident said the boy died at Federal Medical Centre Umuahia a night after admission into the hospital.
He “I was not at home when the incident happened. The boy just finished his common entrance and was always at home while his siblings go to school.
“I was at my place of work when my elder brother called me that my wife and her friend took my son into the kitchen and that they covered the boys mouth with tape.
“He said they Poured him Kerosene and set him on fire. By the time I got home, the youths had gathered in my house. I understood they took him to police clinic Umuahia. We were later referred to Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia. They asked us to come the next day and take the boy to UNTH Enugu.
“But he died in the early hours of today.
I have been in peace with my wife, until my mother and my younger brother took her to a place after which she turned something else. There was a time she broke my head with cutlass for asking her to severe a relationship with one boy.”
