A nurse at an undisclosed hospital in Lagos, Mrs. Nkese Iroakazi has been arrested by the Police at Bode Thomas Division for allegedly setting her 11-year-old maid ablaze.
The maid, Ita Bassey-Eno, an indigene of Akwa Ibom State suffered the wicked fate in the hand of her madam for stealing a piece of meat from the soup pot.
Having suffered 95 percent degree burns, the teenager is currently at the Burns and Trauma Centre of the Gbadaga General Hospital, where doctors are battling to save her life.
According to sources, the ailing girl was said to have stated that her madam poured kerosine on her and struck a match, in their residence at No. 7 Adeniran Ogunsanya Street.
Although Ita had rushed out of the apartment, apparently in an attempt to douse the fire in a nearby gutter, she collapsed before she could reach the gutter.
One of the residents was said to have put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, before Ita Bassey was rushed to the hospital.
A resident who witnessed the incident disclosed that: “I was alighting from the bus when I saw people gathered in front of the building. When I got there, Ita was on the floor, as the flame had been put out.
“Two men who attempted to carry her into a car could not because her skin had peeled off. They had to place her on a slab before she was rushed to the hospital.
“From what I gathered, the girl is barely one month old in Lagos. She was brought from her village in Akwa-Ibom alongside another girl called Happiness. Since then, none had seen them going to school.
“We heard that while Happiness was in the sitting room, there was a shrill cry from Ita and before the former knew what was happening, Ita rushed out of the kitchen 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 the police who then arrested Mrs Iroakazi”.
“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 and it will entail some surgeries because her private part is badly damaged. Presently she wears pampers”, said a doctor at the hospital.
According to the police, the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba for further investigations.
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