When Etimbuk John was born two weeks ago, the expectation of his parents was that people around him would show him love and affection.
The expectation of Etimbuk’s parents must have been hinged on the presumption that a child is innocent and is not likely to be begrudged by anybody. But just two weeks after the baby was born a cruel fate befell him.
His mother, Mrs. Enobong John, narrated how her son, who was born with two arms, lost his right arm due to the cruelty of his 27-year-old half-brother, Nathaniel John.
Enobong told PUNCH METRO that after bathing Etimbuk in the morning of Tuesday, September 27, she breast-fed him and made him to sleep.
She said after Etimbuk slept, she left him in the room and went to the kitchen to do some chores. But less than three minutes after she went into the kitchen, Enobong said she heard her baby crying.
Thinking that Etimbuk’s cry was the normal childish prank meant to draw the attention of his mother, Enobong said she continued with her chores.
But Etimbuk’s elder brother, Israel, went into the room and saw his brother in blood and writhing in excruciating pain. Israel ran out and raised the alarm, which attracted his mother.
Enobong said she dashed into the room, saw blood all over the bed and her two-week-old son’s right arm had been chopped off, adding that she saw Nathaniel come out of the room.
She said, “He (Nathaniel) never stayed in Udung Otong, our village in Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. He lived in Calabar but any time he came to the village, he behaved like a deranged person.
“We never quarreled. But he was in the habit of scaring away little children playing around, making a noise, and often times would want to hurt them.”
Enobong said since the day Nathaniel allegedly committed the crime, he had not been seen.
“I have not seen him since he cut off my son’s right arm. I learnt he had been apprehended by the young men of the village and had been killed. This happened on Tuesday, September 27,” she explained.
Enobong said she did not know how she would be able to pay the hospital bills, adding that as a firewood seller, she hardly had enough to feed her family.
She said that the doctors told her that the wound would take some time to heal and needed some money to get it cleaned regularly.
She said her husband, Sunday, had not worked since he retired many years ago, adding that he is old and too ill to come to the hospital from Oruk Anam.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Akwa Ibom State Command, Mr. Onyeka Orji, described the act as a serious criminal offence. He stated that the police were investigating the matter, adding that the result of the investigation would prove whether Nathaniel was actually deranged or not.
He said, “It is a serious criminal offence. We are investigating the matter. The investigation will prove whether the man is a mad man or the act was a malicious one.
“That is a pointer to members of the public that they should not be too trusting. We should mind the kind of people we leave our children and wards with. People should properly screen such people.”
Concerning the allegation that Nathaniel had been killed, Orji said he was unaware of the development, insisting that the matter was still being investigated.
The Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Dr. Emem Bassey, said he was being careful with the matter since a government official had asked him to be careful in commenting on the issue.
The Executive Director of UyaiIba Akwa Ibom (a ministry dedicated to the helping of children), Mrs. Favour Onobo, said if not for her timely intervention, the baby would have died.
Onobo said Sunday had been out of employment for a very long time because of old age and is even bedridden.
She said the cost of getting the mother and the children to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital was borne by the organisation.
Onobo urged Nigerians to come to the aid of Enobong so that she could save her child’s life. -punch
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