IZUNNA OKAFOR
An Anambra-based apprentice, identified Chinecherem Ugwu, is currently facing one of the most painful moments of his life, given the severe torture he got from his Boss, Mr. Peter Ozioko.
The victim, Ugwu, who hails from Nsukka in Enugu State, was said to be serving his master, Mr. Ozioko, as an apprentice in one of his shops in the commercial city of Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State, before he received the worst beating of his life.
According to a video currently trending on social media, the brutalization came following a suspicion by Mr. Ozioko that his apprentice, Ugwu, bought a phone.
The video, credited to ‘Henry and Abigail’, also showed the brutalized apprentice with varied degrees of irritating injuries on different parts of his body, with some black spots suspected to be signs of internal bleeding or congealed blood; while one of his hands was also said to be cracked, to the point that he can no longer properly move or use it for anything.
Recounting his ordeal, the victim said it all started when his Master was informed by one of his agents that he bought a phone.
This, he said, made his Master to start interrogating him about how-come and the whereabouts of the said phone. He explained that while he was telling his Boss that he did not buy any phone, he ordered him to close the shop, and then immediately carried him (with the help of some people) to a location in the outskirts of the market.
“When they took me to that place, they tied me up with rope and started beating and flogging me with a cane,” Ugwu recounted (in Igbo language).
It was also gathered that Ugwu’s Master and his accomplices were intermittently pouring hot Schnapps alcoholic drink on his bare body while flogging him under the hot sun, to enable the beating sink well on his body.
The apprentice further recounted that his Master, who also hails from the same Nsukka in Enugu State with him, remained adamant to his wailing, his explanations and his excruciating pains throughout the period the torture lasted.
When this reporter contacted him, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Police Command, SP Ikenga Tochukwu, said the Command had seen the video, but had not received any report regarding the said incident.
“The Command wouldn’t want to conclude it was a skit or content creation but States that we have not received any such report, rather have seen the video.”
“We also appreciate the efforts of content creators, especially regarding exposing ills in our society. For now, we treat it as information and hope the victim or relatives will come forward for necessary Police action, please,” the Police Spokesman said in a chat on Sunday.