by Chris Agbo
Onwubariri Emmanuel Chidube is a person with disability who sustained spinal cord injury in 2008 as a result of car accident.
On 17th June, 2020 in Oka Ndibinihu Village, Isialambano LGA, Imo state, he was physically abused and assaulted by Mr. Chukwudi Emmanuel Udunka.
In his statement to The Qualitative Magazine and the accounts from his brothers, it all started on 30th of May 2020 when one Mr. Captain Simon Onwubariri with some youths by the instruction of one Mr. Simeon Udunka came to his house and made away with his generator with the reason that his elder brother owes the village.
He pleaded with them to leave his generator because it is common knowledge in the village that he is the owner of the generator not his elder brother.
“If my brother owes you please leave me out of it” he pleaded but they told him to go and call any police or army that they are not afraid.
“I had no other option than to make video of them taking away my generator when I was not the one owing them. One of them Chukwudi Emmanuel Udunka on noticing that I have made a video of them tried to snatch my phone from me but he didn’t succeed, so he threatened to deal with me”, he said.
See the video when they took away his generator set:
The names of those that made away with his generator are Captain Simon Onwubariri, Innocent Ibemesim, Ifeanyi Onwubariri, Chikwudi udunka, Kennett Udunka, Israel Udunka, Kennett Ezeji, Sam Oyenawoli, Ndubisi Onwubariri, Chibuike Onwubariri, Chibuike Igbokwe, Everest Achuoye, Chika Nwanakwu.
As if that was not enough, on 17th June, 2020 around 7am, Mr. Chukwudi Udunka ran into his compound with a cutlass and a stick and it was raining.
“I was trying to go out and brush my teeth and eat something when he ran into my compound screaming that he is going to kill somebody, that he is going to cut down every member of my family and I said to him brother please stop this, he came into me with full force and pushed me off my wheelchair” he narrated.
“I was down with pains on the ground when my younger brother went after him; he was still shouting that this is just the beginning. It was at this point that my younger brother captured some parts on camera” he said.
He also informed us that before he was violated physically, the same person has been abusing him verbally, he tells him always that he will deal with him one day and there is nothing he can do, he can’t walk, so he can’t do anything and if he goes to police, nothing will come of it because they are connected with the Commissioner of Police in Imo State.
He also informed us that when he was pushed, he fell on muddy ground, his wheelchair damaged and he was badly injured so his younger brother rushed him to hospital, from the hospital, they went to the police to report the incident and the young man and his friend who was also part of the people that took his generator were arrested and the police advised him to go back to hospital and continue his medication since he was in pains. When he returned to the hospital, they denied him admission, so, due to long time frame of looking for a hospital to get medication, he developed a pressure sore around his private part.
Regrettably, as he was in the hospital, those boys were released without contacting him and the case were no longer being attended to adequately and he is having information that they are now collaborating with the Police Commissioner making it difficult for him to get anything good out of his case.
Therefore, he is calling on the public to come to his rescue because he wants justice for what they did to him (took away his generator, came back after some weeks and pushed him down with his wheelchair. His wheelchair was damaged, as a person with spinal cord injury; he went through trauma when he was pushed and the body injuries).
He is now afraid that he doesn’t know if he has sustained any spinal injury that can cause complications in future.
“Since I was pushed off my wheelchair, I have been afraid; I pray I don’t have complications that may take my life because I have been on painkilling drugs since that day.
“I consulted two doctors and they requested an X-ray and MRI scan to ascertain my spinal condition which I don’t have money to carry out and the person who did this to me is still moving around boasting that he will do more” he said.
See the video of the pushing incident: