A landlord is presently on the run in the Anambra State of Nigeria after beating a young girl so severely that she went into a coma.
The girl, aged 12, was the daughter of his tenant. The landlord, who has been identified as Emmanuel Onyekonwu and owns No. 25 Awgbu Street, Idemili North Local Government Area, is said to have escaped after being probed by police officials at the Ogidi Police state over a crime.
It was also found that the victim, Blessing Edeh, is fighting for her life in the ICU of the Balm-In-Gilead hospital, Omagba, near Onitsha. She was beaten severely by the landlord and his wife.
A co-tenant, Ifunanya Igwe, explained the incident and stated that the problem began when the landlord’s children threw stones at his tenants’ children.
After listening to the children’s quarrel, the landlord’s wife immediately rushed to the site and accused the other children of throwing stones at her children. Blessing (the victim), standing at one side, told her that her children had started throwing stones at the other.
The landlord’s wife became angry and asked Blessing, who asked her to become the judge in this matter, and the girl left the site to avoid further rage from her.
After some time, Blessing, along with a few other kids, went to fetch water, and on seeing Blessing, the landlord’s wife rushed and started slapping and beating her.
The landlord also came and started hitting her on the chest, head and leg with a black and pressed her hard on her neck and breasts, which caused one of her breasts to swell, and she fell to the ground.
The landlord and his wife saw that she was in severe condition, so they tried to run but were held by some people who witnessed the incident and were about to lynch the landlord, but some people said that Blessing should be first taken to a nearby hospital.
As per Francisca Edeh, the victim’s mother, the Medical Director of Balm-In-Gilead Hospital, where her daughter was admitted, asked them to go for an X-ray at Iyi-Enu hospital, and as they were going, the landlord threatened them that they would deal with them and directed his lawyer to serve us with quit notice and could not pay the N60,000 billed for the X-ray and other medical invoices at Iyi-Enu hospital, Ogidi.
Still, as the threats continued, the victim’s mother went to the Ogidi Police Station, and police came to arrest the couple, but they refused to open the door, and the police dropped an invitation note and asked her to come to the station the next day.
When she went, she was told by the police that he had jumped bail and was nowhere to be found, and the police were still looking for him.
