A 13-year old boy, Nnadozie Dickson, has been fingered in the death of his 80-year old grandmother, Magdalene Ezeanowane, an incident which occurred on August 23, this year in Ikotun, Lagos State.

Nnadozie, who admitted that he conspired with a domestic cleaner, Augustine Ukwoma, 31, to rob the woman, said he did not have any intention of killing her. According to him, on that fateful day, Augustine had given him some drugs, which he said were sleeping tablets, to put in the old woman’s cup of tea, so as to make her sleep and enable the cleaner to rob her without any hindrance.

SATURDAY PUNCH learnt that it was while spending the last holidays with his aunt, Mrs. Chinyere Umekwe and her family, with whom his late grandmother was living, that the incident occurred.

Narrating the circumstances surrounding the death of the old woman, a source said that the Umekwes had just packed into the neighbourhood.

The late woman’s daughter, who incidentally is a younger sister of Nnadozie’s father, Mr. Theophilus Ezeanowane, was out of the country on an official trip to Ethiopia, and had left Nnadozie and her two little children in their grandmother’s care, as her husband was based outside Nigeria.

The source said that Ukwoma, who had been staying in the same building for two weeks before the incident, was hired by the landlord to clean the compound.

After Ukwoma learnt that the old woman’s daughter had travelled and her husband was abroad, he called Nnadozie to inquire if there was any hard currency in the house. The young boy naively informed him that indeed, there was a sum of N150,000 in the house and also told him where it was kept.

Ukwoma then promised to give Nnadozie some of the money if the boy could assist him in stealing the money from the old woman.

He allegedly gave Nnadozie some drugs, which he said were sleeping tablets, to be dropped in the old woman’s tea.

Nnadozie, after giving his grandmother the drugged tea, noticed that rather than sleeping, the woman started coughing repeatedly and dangerously.

Panicking, the young boy subsequently called Ukwoma to inform him of the development.

Not wanting to lose the money in the event that the old woman dies, Ukwoma asked the boy to go and play with his little cousins, who were playing downstairs, after promising to take care of the boy’s grandmother.

Nnadozie had gone back to the flat with his aunt’s six-year old son when the two children saw Ukwoma trying to suffocate their grandmother with a pillow. They then ran downstairs to the landlord’s flat to inform him.

An eyewitness, identified simply as Chuka, said Ukwoma was apprehended by the neighbours. After taking the old woman to the hospital, the landlord reported the case at Ikotun Police Station.

The old woman, it was learnt, later died as a result of the complications she developed after the incident. Her son, Ndubuisi, later reported the case at the Lagos State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, where ukwoma is being detained.

However, Nnadozie was released to go home with his father, but must report to the SCID whenever the need arises.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Mr. Samuel Jinadu, confirmed the incident, saying that the domestic cleaner was currently in police custody.


http://punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201110080282896

Oh well!
Are we surprised?
When I say IGBO people should be contained ONLY in Eastern Nigeria. . .people will call me a 'tribalist'.
See for yourselves.

A thirteen year old?

God forbid 'otokoto' genes!
Twa!