A woman has been made to go through a most painful experience after accepting her lover's marriage proposal.
Ogochukwu Nwosu before the incident
Ogochukwu Nwosu, a 25-year-old woman, has been bathed with substance suspected to be acid.
The woman is now in a critical condition at the Lagos University
Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Surulere, Lagos State, after she was
attacked.
According to Punch Metro, Ogochukwu was at Ilasa bus-stop, on the
Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, when a man allegedly dropped from a motorcycle
and poured acid on her.
He was said to have jumped back on the motorcycle and fled the scene.
The victim, who sustained burns on her face, neck, breasts, among
other parts of her body, was reportedly rushed to LUTH by passersby.
Speaking to a correspondent, Ogochukwu, who spoke from her hospital
bed, accused one Mrs. Chidi, the wife of the man who had proposed
marriage to her, as the culprit.
She alleged that Mrs. Chidi had been threatening her on the
telephone and through text messages immediately she learnt of her
husband’s intention to marry her (Ogochukwu).
She said she had turned down Mr. Chidi’s proposal because he was married, adding that the latter persisted. “On Thursday, I had closed from Computer Village where I work. Around 8pm, when I reached Ilasa bus stop, I dropped off the bus.
“I was about to cross to the other side of the road when a man
dropped from a motorcycle and poured something on me. He immediately
fled on the motorcycle. People came to my rescue and took me to the
hospital.
“I suspect Mrs. Chidi because she had been threatening me
before the incident. And while I was on admission at the hospital, she
called and spoke with my brother, saying that was just the beginning,” she added.
Ogochukwu’s brother, Peter, said he recorded a part of the conversation with Mrs. Chidi on his mobile phone.
Peter said he reported the incident at the Itire Police Division,
adding that Mrs. Chidi was arrested and detained for two days before the
case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and
Intelligence Department, Yaba.
Punch Metro reports that the police admitted the suspect to bail shortly after the matter got to the SCIID.
It was learnt that counsel to the victim, Louis Nwaugbala and
Anthony Obi, had already petitioned the Deputy Inspector General of
Police, Force Headquarters, Abuja, over the matter.
A copy of the petition, obtained by Punch Metro, read in part, “Sometime
in 2012, one Mr. Chidi approached our client and started making
advances to her and promised to marry her. But she vehemently refused
the proposal. She told him that she was not interested in the marriage
since he was already married.
“Upon Mr. Chidi’s insistence of wanting to marry our client and
even making preparations to visit our client’s family to formalise the
marriage rites, our client advised Mr. Chidi to inform his wife of his
plans to take our client as his second wife, since both of them will be
cohabiting in the same house.
“Immediately Mr. Chidi made his plans known to his wife, all
hell broke loose as Mrs. Chidi started calling and persistently
threatening our client’s life through phone calls, text and Whatsapp
messages.”
The petition alleged that the suspect threatened to wreak havoc
before December 2016, the purported month of the traditional marriage
between Mr. Chidi and Ogochukwu.
It added that Ogochukwu was persuaded against reporting the threat
to the police by Mr. Chidi, who allegedly promised to persuade his wife
to accept the union.
It said tragedy struck when the victim was attacked while she was returning from work on Thursday, October 6, 2016.
Nwaugbala, the victim’s lawyer, said justice must be served in the
case, adding that Ogochukwu must be flown abroad for plastic surgery by
the suspect and her husband.
“That is the only thing that can assuage the damage presently done to her. She should be flown abroad for treatment,” he added.
When contacted, Mr. Chidi declined comment, referring journalists to the police at the SCIID.
He said, “I cannot speak with you, neither can my wife. The
case is under investigation at the SCIID. Go and speak with the police
at Panti; they are the ones investigating it. We cannot make any
comment.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed
the incident. She explained that Mrs. Chidi was released on bail because
she could not be directly linked to the attack.
She said, “It was reported that the victim was bathed with acid
by two men on a motorcycle. The victim alleged that she suspected the
woman because she (the victim) is a girlfriend to Mr. Chidi and because
she (victim) might likely marry the man, Mrs. Chidi might have planned
the attack.
“Mrs. Chidi was picked up, made to undergo investigation and
the command could not get any clue linking her to the case for now. And
to protect her right, she was granted bail. Investigation is still
ongoing to unravel what actually happened. Anyone linked to the case
will be duly prosecuted.”
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