A disturbing incident occurred on Sunday in which 17-year-old Samuel Onyeme was allegedly beaten and locked in a dog cage after visiting his female classmate, Miss Anastasia Celestine, at her residence.
Reports indicate that the incident took place around 6:00 pm when Samuel went to visit Anastasia. According to the victim’s mother, Mrs. Onyeme, the ordeal was shocking and deeply troubling.
“It was a bitter experience,” Mrs. Onyeme recounted, describing what her son endured at the hands of those present in the Celestine household.
She said, “My son, Samuel, a 17-year-old Senior Secondary student of Redeemers International High School, Asaba, Delta State, on Sunday, visited his classmate, Anastasia Celestine, at her residence after she invited him.
“My son said they were having a discussion outside the house of Mr Celestine when he was brutally assaulted by her father and his two sons.
“They attacked him on the street, dragged him into their compound, and inflicted severe physical injuries on him. You see his head, he said they used wooden planks and locked him inside a dog cage.
“During the assault, they confiscated his mobile phone and called me (mother) deceiving me into coming to the scene. Upon my arrival, I was deprived of seeing him for two hours.”
She said her daughter, Jessica, who was outside attempting to seek help, was also subjected to assault by members of the Celestine family when she tried to re-enter the compound.
“The situation escalated when Ben, the other of my sons, who is the elder brother to Samuel, contacted a family friend, who then reached out to a human rights organisation before they mobilised police, officers were mobilised to rescue Samuel from the dog cage around 10:00 pm that night.”
Speaking further, a human rights activist, Mr Victor Ojei, who reported the incident to the Delta State Police Command, on Tuesday said he mobilised the police before Samuel was rescued from the dog cage, and described the act as barbaric and inhumane.
Ojei, in a petition addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Police Command, demanded the immediate investigation and prosecution of Mr Celestine and his sons for kidnapping, unlawful detention, assault, and attempted murder in line with the provisions of Nigerian Criminal Law and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Laws.
The petition, copied the Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Delta State and the State Coordinator, National Human Rights Commission, Asaba, Delta State, called for justice.
“One Onyeme Ben contacted a family friend, who then reached out to our organisation. Following our report to the Delta State Police, officers were mobilised, and Master Onyeme Samuel was rescued from the dog cage around 10:00 pm that night.
“Based on the above facts, Mr Celestine and his sons have committed criminal offences which include unlawful detention of Mrs. Onyeme Onome for two hours against her will, and the forcible confinement of Master Onyeme Samuel in a dog cage from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm.which contravenes Section 364 of the Criminal Code Act.
“The brutal assault on Master Onyeme Samuel using wooden planks, resulting in multiple injuries and psychological trauma, is a violation of Section 355 of the Criminal Code Act.
“Attempted murder; threats to pour fuel and set Master Onyeme Samuel ablaze amount to attempted murder under Section 320 of the Criminal Code Act.”
It was learnt that the victim, Samuel, is currently receiving treatment at the Asaba Specialist Hospital as a result of physical injuries and psychological suffered during the incident.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Bright Edafe, said he hadn’t received the report of the incident as of the time of filling this report.