LAGOS — Policemen at Bode Thomas division of
Lagos State command, Tuesday, arrested a woman who allegedly set her
11-year-old house maid ablaze in Surulere area of Lagos, for stealing a piece
of meat from her pot of soup.
The maid identified as Ita Bassey-Eno who reportedly escaped
death by the whiskers, is currently at the Burns and Trauma Centre of the
Gbadaga General Hospital, with doctors battling to save her life.
Although her mistress, a staff nurse at an undisclosed hospital
in Surulere, Mrs Nkese Iroakazi, reportedly denied the allegation at the police
station, the ailing girl was said to have managed to state that she allegedly
poured kerosene on her before striking a stick of matches to set her on fire.
The incident, as gathered, occurred last Saturday at 7, Adeniran
Ogunsanya Street, after Ita rushed out of the apartment with fire
on her, apparently in an attempt to plunge into a gutter. Unfortunately,
she reportedly fell before she could get to the gutter.
One of the residents was said to have succeeded in putting out
the fire with the aid of a fire extinguisher, before she was rushed to the
hospital.
Eyewitness account
A resident who simply identified herself as
Morakinyo told Vanguard: “I was just alighting from the bus
when I saw people gathered in front of the building. When I got there, I saw
Ita whom we all call Eno on the floor. Then, the flame had been put out.
“Two men who attempted to carry her into a car could not because
the skin at that time had peeled off. They had to get a slab, placed her on it
and rushed her to the hospital. From what I gathered, the girl has spent barely
one month in Lagos before the incident.
“She was brought from her village in Akwa Ibom State last month
alongside another girl called Happiness. Since then, we have not seen either of
them going to school.
“We heard that while Happiness was in the sitting room, there
was a cry from Ita in the kitchen and before she (Happiness) knew what was
happening, Ita rushed out of the kitchen and straight to the road
shouting for help.
“How could someone who has children of her own treat
another’s like this? It was even the residents that alerted policemen who
came to pick Mrs Iroakazi.”
95% burns
When Vanguard visited the
hospital, Tuesday, a doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed
fear about the victim’s condition, revealing that she suffered 95
per cent burns.
“It will take a miracle for her to survive. In any case, we are
trying all we can to ensure she gets back on her feet. That will entail some
surgeries because her private part was badly damaged.
“Currently, she wears pampers and that area needs immediate
surgery after the injuries would have healed.”
Ita was sighted with bandage all over her body, except her face
and feet. When a nurse approached her to administer the day’s treatment, she
groaned in pains.
As at 3 p.m yesterday, police sources told Vanguard that
the suspect would be transferred to the state Criminal Investigation
Department, Panti, Yaba for further investigation.
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