From ROSE EJEMBI, Makurdi
Residents of Oju main town in Oju Local Government Area of Benue State are still confused as to why some youths in the area would attack a ten year old boy and cut off his hand (his fingers inclusive) as well as attempted to remove his eye over a flimsy allegation that he stole an exercise book.
The incident, Saturday Sun gathered, happened at about 7pm on October 5th this year while the young boy, Gabriel Opila, a primary six pupil of Emmanuel International School, Oju was coming back from his father’s shop located at the Oju market.
How it happened
Father of the victim, Onah Peter Opila, a butcher, while narrating the incident to our correspondent at the MultiCare Hospital in Makurdi where Gabriel is currently receiving medical attention, said he had left his son in the market that fateful day to attend the burial of a relation at another part of the town.
“On Thursday October 5 at about 7pm, we were at a burial when I had a phone call from an eye witness that my son, Gabriel was on his way from the market when some persons attacked him and chopped off his right hand and also attempted to remove his right eye as well.”
On hearing the sad news, Opila said he rushed to the scene of the incident but was told that the police had taken his son to a hospital within Oju town.
“I ran to the scene of the incident but was told that the police had moved my son to the Holy Cross Hospital in Oju main town. On reaching the hospital, we saw a gory sight of exactly what the eye witness had described to me and even more because there were also wounds all over my son’s body.
“On inquiry, my son said he was coming from the market when he was suddenly accosted by some people and in no time, they started attacking him. He said he tried to appeal to some of them whom he identified including Sunday Onah and Sunday Ogbu and others,” he narrated.
Asked what his son did to the attackers, the 42 year old father of six children said, “We were told that the assailants alleged that my son stole an exercise book but up till now, they have not shown me the exercise book they claimed he stole, neither is there any complainant, but we understand that the attackers are ritual killers commonly known as badoo boys.”
Also speaking with our correspondent at the hospital, the victim, Gabriel said he asked his attackers why they were doing that to him especially as they know his father very well and kept begging them to leave and allow him go but they turned deaf ears to his pleas and went ahead with their evil plans.
“As I continued to beg them to let me go, one of them then ordered that the person holding a cutlass among them should cut off my hand and he did. I was still in pains when I felt a sharp object on my right eye and then I blanked out. I later saw myself in the hospital that night.”
Gabriel who said that his assailants claimed that he stole an exercise book in the market insisted that he never stole anything. He said he was even surprised when the allegation was made against him.
“If truly I stole anything in the market as they are alleging, why did they have to wait until I left the market that day and was almost close to our house before they attacked me? Why didn’t they catch me there and then in the market in the presence of people? Why did they have to attack me under the cover of night. Whose exercise book did they say I stole?”
Victim’s family angry
Also on hand at the hospital to take care of Gabriel is his 34 years old mother, Comfort who is also nursing a nine months old baby. Although she couldn’t utter a word to our correspondent, she consistently hissed and sighed while frantically trying to conceal the hot tears dropping intermittently from her eyes throughout the interview session.
Also speaking, Gabriel’s Uncle, Engr. Clement Ugbada who disclosed that the family managed to recover the part of Gabriel’s hand that was cut off by the attackers expressed the displeasure of the family over the incident saying that the victim, though a second child, is the first son of his father and a very skillful young boy who at his age could do so many handiwork including shoe making.
“Yes, we managed to recover the part of his hand that was cut off by the attackers and we are keeping it to tender as evidence in court. He is very skillful and creative. At his age, it would interest you to know that he makes good shoes and he is known to be in the habit of always helping his father in the market after school hours.
“In fact, he was coming back from that same market that day when the assailants attacked him. He would have been coming back with his father but his father had to leave earlier to attend a burial. We were all at the burial together when the news of Gabriel’s attack broke.
“He does not deserve to be treated this way and that is why we are calling on the police, government, national and international communities to come to the aid of this boy and ensure he gets justice in this matter by helping to bring the perpetrators of this dastardly act to book. We understand that seven of them have so far been arrested while others are still at large.
“We are also appealing and calling on government, well meaning Nigerians, corporate organizations and all to help Gabriel because as it stands now, he has been rendered somehow incapacitated without a hand and an eye. Although a corrective surgery has been done on the eye, he is still not able to see with it yet. We are just hoping and praying that he would see with it with time but we can never be too sure. “
No help coming
While also lamenting that since the incident happened, nobody had come to the aid of the family in offsetting the medical bills incurred, Ugbada urged government, and all well meaning individuals to assist the family in that regard.
He explained that since the arrest of the suspects, many residents of Oju Main Town and environs have been rejoicing because according to him, the boys were posing a lot of treats to the community.
“The boys claimed to be township youths in Oju Main Town but in the real sense of it, they are creating a lot of problems for the Igede nation. That is why people are celebrating their arrest. Even in Oju Market, traders are seriously rejoicing over the news of their arrest.”
Meanwhile, some residents of Oju who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by the attackers expressed displeasure over the crude manner in which the young boy, Gabriel was attacked.
One of them, a woman lamented that even if the young boy stole N10 million, that shouldn’t have attracted that kind of punishment at all stressing that the attack on him was wickedness at its peak.
“What did they say that could warrant them meting out this kind of punishment to him for God’s sakes? I heard they said he stole an exercise book but even if he stole N10million, can that bring back his hand or restore his lost sight? This is wickedness in action and whoever partook in that kind of act will definitely face the wrath of God.”
Police reacts
Confirming the report, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, ASP Moses Yamu who disclosed that the seven arrested suspects had been charged to court noted that the most surprising aspect of the matter was that nobody had come out to actually say what the young boy stole that warranted that kind of gruesome treatment meted out to him.
“We heard that they said he stole something but up till now nobody has come out to say what he stole or report that he or she is the owner of what he stole. However, the suspects have been charged to court already.”
On whether the suspects confessed to the crime during investigation, the PPRO said, “of course, you know they will deny it knowing the repercussion of such criminal cases.”