By Adesina Soyooye
Teenage-girl, Ukamaka Okonkwo, who was snatched from the jaws of death, has been given a refreshing lease of life.
Recall that Ukamaka was abducted in the presence of his father by two men on a motorcycle while she and his father were going back home from their farm in their community, Ndiagu Umumba, Ezeagu Local Government of Enugu State.
The men who snatched her did that on the behest of a millionaire-“native- doctor- ritualist, High Chief Levi Obieze.
On her abduction, Ukamaka’s father raised an alarm which attracted the youths in the community. An all-night search in company of the Community’s vigilante burst the case when the search party heard screams emanating from the sprawling compound of Obieze. They stormed the compound and after some resistance, they burst in only to discover a screaming Ukamaka in a pit, bound hands and legs, preparatory for ritual purposes.
She was rescued.
But when Police were called in, more shocks were in store. When a solidly, cemented soakaway in the compound was broken into, two human remains, one of a yet-to-be identified pregnant woman, and the other of a teenage boy identified as Chimobi Ezih were discovered.
Taking into consideration the trauma the rescued 13-year old Ukamaka has gone through, and for her continued safety, Governor Mbah, on Sunday, June I, 2025, relocated her to Enugu and granted her scholarship upto University level..
Mrs Ngozi Enih, the Enugu State Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development who disclosed this on Sunday said she and her team were directed by Mbah to move Ukamaka, given the trauma the teenage-girl has endured. She also reconfirmed the award of scholarship, upto University level granted her by the Governor.
She said: “We traveled to Ndiagu Umumba, Ezeagu LGA, today on the Governor’s directive to meet with Ukamaka’s parents and bring her to Enugu for therapy and full rehabilitation. You can only imagine the level of trauma this young girl has been through.
“The Governor has graciously awarded her a scholarship that will see her through her University education. This is a way to reassure her and her parents that they are not alone, and to help restore hope and joy in their lives. The Government wants to ensure that she fulfills her destiny- she is indeed a destined child.”
The Commissioner disclosed that her Ministry will be responsible for Ukamaka’s counseling and therapy.
She also disclosed that she and her team, on Governor Mbah’s instruction, paid a condolence visit to the parents of the murdered Chimobi Ezih -Mr Theophilus and Mrs Chinenye Ezih – at Agbah Umana in Ezeagu LGA over the tragic murder of their son.
The alleged ritualist who escaped from his house, was, a couple of days later, arrested at Seme boarder by the Nigerian Immigration Services on his way to fleeing the Country. His three other accomplices had, earlier been arrested.
The Enugu State Government has since demolished Obieze’s mansion.
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