Osuagwu narrated how he watched helplessly as an angry mob destroyed his house over the crime of a man he is unrelated to
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Paying for the sin of another became the lot of Marcel Osuagwu whose home was set ablaze by a rampaging mob, he tells TheNiche.
Osuagwu, a native of the Amakor autonomous community in the Njaba local government area of Imo State, recalled how on August 17, 2021, he watched helplessly as an angry mob destroyed his house on the pretext of exacting vengeance for the action of someone he is not related to by blood, the son of his father’s last wife.
The relative, he says, is Chikwado Osuagwu, a 30-year-old man accused of beating to death his rival in a gambling game, the 19-year-old Francis Okpara.
Osuagwu recalled that after the gruesome event, Chikwado absconded and has remained at large at the time of filing this report. But an angry mob, he says, marched to his home and set it ablaze, rendering him homeless.
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He said: “This incident took place on August 17, 2021, at about 3 pm. The incident started as a joke when the two boys were playing gambling, that is Chikwado and Francis were playing gambling. Twelve others were there. It was reported that Chikwado who lost the game and was supposed to pay Francis N200, refused to pay. Then fight ensued between them.
“The gambling took place in another community called Obeakpu autonomous community also in the same Njaba local government the previous day. Twelve boys were there watching Chikwado who is about 30 years old beat up Francis who was about 19 years old. Even the man who is the owner of the business was there, and he didn’t separate the fight until Chikwado stabbed the small boy with a bottle three times on the neck,” Osuagwu said.
Osuagwu wondered why the twelve other boys failed to separate the fight until it became fatal. “Even a stranger who wished to separate them was cautioned by the twelve boys not to be involved until Francis fainted because blood was gushing out from him uncontrollable,” he said.
He added: “Now when this boy died at about 3 pm, the other community called Obeakpu with their youths, set my property ablaze, my house worth millions of naira got lost for the offence committed by another person. Is it because the mother is my father’s last wife? He is not my son. We do not have the same father. Why should this jungle justice be meted out to me,” he said.
Osuagwu said since the incident, he has not been feeling well as the event affected his health. He also said he has no roof over his head due to the destruction of his house.
