A woman, Amarachi Chinyere, has narrated the circumstances that led to her alleged assault during a dispute over a pot of soup involving a 37-year-old man, Agwu Ukpo, in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State.
Amarachi spoke in a video shared on Facebook by human rights activist Harrison Gwamnishu on Monday, amid the arrest of a 37-year-old suspect, Agwu Ukpo, by the Abia State Police Command over the incident.
Recounting the circumstances that led to the incident, Amarachi alleged that the attack stemmed from an earlier disagreement after she rejected the suspect’s sexual advances.
According to her, the suspect, identified as Ukpo, had approached her and offered her money in exchange for sex, but she turned him down because she was married.
“One day, that boy, Ukpo, asked me if he wanted to have sex with me, and I said no. Then he said he was going to give me N50,000. I told him no, that I am already married. He said he would treat me well, but I still told him no,” she said.
Amarachi alleged that shortly after the rejection, the suspect began targeting her.
She said, “I went to the market to buy things to cook soup. After I finished cooking, I went out to buy Indomie. When I came back, he had carried my soup and poured it into a washing plate.
“I then told brother Obinna, who went to ask him why he did such a thing, but he did not listen.”
The woman said the matter appeared settled until another disagreement occurred a few days later.
“About three days later, the boy cooked soup. The soup had stayed in the pot for about three days, and there was only a little left.
“I carried the remaining soup from the pot into a plate, washed the pot, and warmed the soup. He later carried the soup and ate it,” she said.
According to Amarachi, the suspect subsequently accused her of insulting him and threatened to beat her.
“Obinna told me to leave him alone and let him carry his trouble and go. Then he began shouting that I was insulting him and said he would beat me one day.
“I asked him, ‘You will beat me? What did I do to you?’ Then he held me there and began to beat me,” she alleged.
She further claimed that bystanders pleaded with the suspect to stop the attack, but he ignored them.
“The boy who was taking the video said, ‘Leave this girl, she did not do anything to you,’ but he did not listen.
“Another slim guy there also begged him to leave me alone, but he warned the boy not to touch him and continued beating me,” she said.
Amarachi alleged that she sustained injuries to several parts of her body during the assault.
“He hit me on my back, he hit me on my eyes, and he hit me on my chest. He beat me until my body became weak,” she said.
She added that the person filming the incident eventually fled the scene by jumping over a fence.
Demanding justice, the victim urged the police to ensure that the suspect is prosecuted and made to bear the cost of her treatment.
“I want justice. I want the police to take him to court. That is what I want. All the money my husband spent on my treatment, he should pay it back,” she said.
NewsWatch Metro reported on Monday that the Abia State Police Command had on Sunday announced the arrest of Ukpo, saying he would face charges bordering on assault and attempted murder upon the conclusion of investigations.
The command’s spokesperson, Maureen Chinaka, had stated that the suspect was apprehended following the circulation of a viral video showing him allegedly attacking the victim.
She had also noted that the suspect, an indigene of Akanu Ohafia in the Ohafia Local Government Area of the state, was being investigated at the State Criminal Investigation Department.
