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Two children of the same parent die in mid-night fire

Published

11 years ago

January 27, 2014

Two children of the same parents were on Saturday
night roasted alive in their sleep at Ekpoma, in the Esan-West Local
Government Area of Edo.
The children, a female, four-year-old Oyenchi Akamezie and two-
year-old Chukwudalo Akamezie, a male, were reportedly burnt
when fire from a local lamp engulfed their room at night.
It was alleged that the mother of the children, Christy Akamezie,
locked them up in the room while asleep and left to prostitute.
A crowd of sympathisers who had gathered at the residence on
Ilenlua Street, rained curses on the bereaved mother, calling her
unprintable names.
As at the time of this report, the charred bodies of the children had yet
to be evacuated from their one-room apartment, while the Police had
arrested their mother for alleged negligence.
The father of the children, Mr Chike Akamezie, a trader based in
Uromi, Esan North East Local Government Area, who wept
uncontrollably, told NAN that though he had been estranged from his
wife, he never failed to provide for the upkeep of the children.
Akamezie, who admitted he never paid any dowry on his estranged
wife, alleged that he was compelled to separate from her because she
was sleeping around with other men.
He said he never knew that the woman could lock up the children at
night to go for prostitution, adding he would have collected the children
while separating from her, if his late mother was still alive.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Esan-West
Local Government, declined comment, but directed the reporter to the
Police/Public Relations Officer (PPRO) at the State Police
Headquarters in Benin.
He explained that DPOs were not authorised to grant media
interviews. (NAN)