A Chief Magistrate’s Court in Enugu East Magisterial District has remanded Mr. Anthony Onyeukwu for the death of his 11-year-old houseboy, Goodluck John.
According to the Enugu State Government, this is consistent with its ongoing campaign against all types of child maltreatment.
Mr. Onyeukwu, 47, was arrested following a tip-off from one of the Ministry’s whistle-blower channels that the young Goodluck John’s death was linked to abuse by the family with whom he lived as a houseboy, according to Enugu Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs, and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih.
However, Mr. Onyeukwu was accused of hurriedly conveying and burying the 11-year-old boy’s remains in the boy’s hometown in Abia State without informing the necessary authorities.
Although he claimed that the boy died from an illness at Park Lane Hospital in Enugu, there was no evidence that the boy was admitted to the hospital or that his body was deposited in the morgue.
When the suspect was arrested last week, the Police Prosecutor, Inspr Calista Ifeanyi, informed the presiding Chief Administrative Magistrate, Ngozi Edeh Anih, that Mr. Onyeukwu had committed an offense punishable under Enugu State’s Criminal Code (Revised) laws.
The charge sheet marked: CME/631C/2024 read, “That you, Onyeukwu Anthony ‘m’ on 15th day of October, 2024 at about 20:30 hours at No. 4, Mike Onyeka Close, Loma Linda Extension, Maryland, Enugu, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did unlawfully k!ll one Goodluck John ‘m’ aged 11 years and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 274 (1) of the Criminal Code, CAP 30, Vol. II, Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria, 2004.”
The defendant was then placed under remand at the Correctional Center in Enugu by the Chief Magistrate, who also postponed the case until November 20, 2024, when the Director of Public Prosecutions’ report from the Ministry of Justice in Enugu is anticipated.
In the meantime, Mrs. Nkechinyere Mbah, the governor of Enugu State’s wife, has issued a warning against child abuse in the state, stating that no such offense will go unpunished.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
