A Chief Magistrate’s Court in the Enugu East Magisterial District has ordered the remand of 47-year-old Anthony Onyeukwu following the alleged abuse-related death of his 11-year-old houseboy, Goodluck John.
Enugu State Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs, and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, disclosed that Onyeukwu was detained after authorities received a tip-off through one of the Ministry’s whistle-blower channels, raising suspicions of abuse in connection with the boy’s death.
According to Mrs. Enih, the whistle-blower’s report suggested that the young boy’s passing was linked to mistreatment by the family he served as a houseboy. In a swift move after Goodluck’s death, the suspect allegedly transported the boy’s body to his hometown in Abia State for burial without notifying any relevant authorities.
Onyeukwu reportedly claimed the boy had died from an illness at Park Lane Hospital in Enugu. However, the Commissioner stated that there was no hospital record indicating that Goodluck had been admitted there or that his body had been held in the hospital’s morgue.
During the arraignment, Police Prosecutor Inspector Calista Ifeanyi informed Chief Magistrate Ngozi Edeh Anih that Onyeukwu’s actions amounted to a punishable offense under Enugu State’s Criminal Code. The charge sheet, marked CME/631C/2024, detailed, “That you, Onyeukwu Anthony ‘m’ on 15th day of October, 2024 at about 20:30 hours at No. 4, Mike Onyeka Close, Loma Linda Extension, Maryland, Enugu, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did unlawfully kill one Goodluck John ‘m’ aged 11 years and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 274 (1) of the Criminal Code, CAP 30, Vol. II, Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria, 2004.”
Chief Magistrate Anih ordered Onyeukwu’s remand at the Enugu Correctional Centre, scheduling the case for November 20, 2024, pending a report from the Director of Public Prosecution.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Nkechinyere Mbah, wife of the Enugu State Governor, issued a strong warning against child abuse, assuring that any cases of mistreatment would face legal repercussions.
