The 17-year-old girl, who completed her secondary school education in
2012, was said to have taken the action following a verbal reprimand from her
employer over some missing money.
Chika, who was described as a well-behaved girl, had been living with her
employer for three years and was said to have passed her Senior Secondary
Certificate Examination in flying colours before the tragedy.
A neighbour, Nwosu Oke, told PUNCH Metro on Monday that Chika’s employer,
identified simply as Madam Oluchi, had spent a lot of money on the girl’s
education and was planning to buy her a Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination
form to enable her go to the university before the incident.
On the fateful day, Oluchi was said to have accosted Chika over the
missing money and had also threatened to cut her hair if she did not reveal
where she kept it.
“Chika brought out part of the money which she hid inside the cushion
chair. But her madam insisted that she must tell her what she did with the
balance of the money. The girl said she gave it to somebody, but refused to
disclose the name of the person, saying she would rather die than mention the
person’s name,” Oke said.
According to him, Oluchi threatened to cut off Chika’s hair, but
when the girl remained adamant, she (Oluchi) stepped out of the room to the
back of the apartment. Chika, however, locked herself inside the apartment and
swallowed the insecticide.
He said, “After reprimanding the girl for not disclosing the name of the
person she gave the money to, Oluchi and her cousin, who was in Abuja for a job
interview, continued talking at the back of the house. Later, they decided to
check on Chika in the house. They found that she had locked the door. So they
went to the front of the house and peeped through the window. They found her
lying still on the bed.
“They raised the alarm, forced the net door open and rushed into the
room. They also forced palm oil into her mouth in an attempt to mitigate the
effect of the insecticide. A neighbour came and assisted them to take her to
the General Hospital, Kubwa. She was still alive when she got to the hospital,
but she later died.”
Another neighbour, who pleaded anonymity, said Chika was usually well
behaved except for occasional exuberance associated with girls her of age.
It was gathered that Oluchi immediately reported the incident at the
Divisional Police Station, Kubwa, where she was transferred to the FCT Police
Command, where she had been detained.
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Altienne Daniel, confirmed the
incident and said that investigation was ongoing. He added that Oluchi might be
charged for murder if found culpable in the death of her housemaid.
Punch
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