Thirty-two-year-old mother of five, Mrs Chinwe Ozoemena and her six-year-old son are now writhing in pains at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, Anambra State as their neighbour at Nkwo Nnewi market allegedly bathed them with acid.
The incident happened last Saturday.
According to a family source, the woman and her little boy had closed business for the day on that fateful evening and were about leaving the market. But unknown to them, their attacker was lurking around the shops, waiting for them with undiluted acid.
Daily Sun was told that as soon as the suspect who was allegedly not in good terms with the Ozoemenas sighted the victims, he advanced towards them “which made the victims’ (mother) who was using her cell phone torchlight, (as it was getting dark) to shout, calling Sunday, Sunday (suspect) what is it again.”
The source said it was at that moment that the suspect poured the deadly liquid on the victims and disappeared. Daily Sun gathered that as the mother and son cried out in pains, sympathizers rushed to the scene and applied first aid, using water and oil to douse the devastating effect before they were rushed to NAUTH.
When Daily Sun visited the victims at the Accident and Emergency Unit, NAUTH it was observed that the woman had a higher degree of burn than the son as her face and chest were targeted, while her son was affected in the back and part of his head.
Speaking to Daily Sun, the woman’s husband, Mr Bright Ozoemena, a building contractor and a native of Mmiata Anam in Anambra West Local Government Area, said when he got the news of what happened to his family, he rushed to the hospital and was briefed by his wife and later ran to Nnewi Central Police Station which led to the arrest of the suspect, a native of Abakiliki in Ebonyi State, according to Mr Ozoemena.
The matter has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka for further investigation. Contacted, the Anambra State Police Command image maker, Mr Emeka Chukwuemeka said he was yet to get details of the incident.