A
seven-year-old boy, Chibuike Miracle Oramalu, who was detained over alleged
murder in Enugu, was released on Wednesday evening.
Chibuike,
a primary two pupil of a nursery and primary school, has been detained since
May 30, after accidentally firing a gun, which killed a 12-year-old boy,
Oluebube Boniface.
The
incident occurred on May 29, in the Independence Layout area of Enugu.
The
gun belonged to Mr. Edwin Oforma, who employed Chibuike’s mother as a cleaner
and housekeeper in his house.
Chibuike
accidentally fired the shot after discovering the gun in Oforma’s room while
making the bed, as he was instructed by Chukwunanu, Oforma’s son.
Chibuike’s
mother, Mrs. Nwakaego Oramalu, and her lawyer, Mr. Olu Omotayo, of the Civil
Rights Realisation and Advancement Network, had raised the alarm over the
little boy’s continued detention.
In
a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Omotayo demanded Chibuike’s
release, describing the boy’s detention as “a brutal attack on the rights of
the child in Nigeria” and “a very dangerous dimension to rights violations by
the Nigeria Police”.
Following
the development, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu,
on Tuesday said the boy was not detained.
Rather,
according to Ojukwu, Chibuike was in ‘protective custody’.
However,
the boy was released to his mother on Wednesday evening.
Tags
Society