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MYSTERY FIRE DISFIGURES WOMAN 11 DAYS BEFORE WEDDING

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If Charity Okoroukwu, a 27-year-old
woman, who graduated in Business Administration from the Institute of
Management Technology (IMT), Enugu, had known that danger was lurking around
the corner 11 days to her wedding, she would not have attempted to refuel a
kerosene lantern on December 17, 2011.
On that fateful day, she was refueling the lantern when
it caught fire, exploded and left her with third degree burns. But till date, a
yet unsolved riddle still bothers her about the incident. The fire, which
disrupted her life, did not affect the keg containing the kerosene. At the
time, the native of Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State was
awaiting mobilization for the mandatory National Youths Service Scheme. Now,
she needs more than N2 million for a plastic surgery.


This is her story: “When I was in the IMT where I
graduated on December 6, 2011, I
was popularly known as Chacha. Few days later, I left Enugu
for our village in Anambra State to prepare for my wedding that was to hold on December 28. On
December 17, which was exactly 11 days to my wedding ceremony, I wanted to put
kerosene in one of our lanterns and it exploded. So, the fire burnt my body
without mercy.

“People that were around poured water on me and I was
rushed to a nearby hospital. I was later transferred to another private
hospital in Awka. I spent more than two months there before I was discharged.
My bill at the hospital was well above N500, 000. In spite of the treatment and
the money involved, I was not okay as at the time I was discharged,” she said.
Charity, who noted that she was five months pregnant when the fire burnt her,
stated that the wedding was held in the hospital. Her husband, according to
her, insisted that the wedding must be held to shame the devil. She continued:
“After that, my husband, who has been residing in Lagos,
asked me to come. When I got to Lagos,
we went to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebutte Meta. At the FMC, I
registered for ante natal. Shortly thereafter, we were referred to the Lagos
University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

“I was admitted when I got to LUTH and I was subjected
to series of tests. In the hospital, I had my baby through caesarean section
because of my condition. We named the boy Victor Chidera. Victor means victory
and Chidera means what God has written. I gave him the name because of my
condition and the circumstances, surrounding his birth.”Charity appealed to kind-hearted
Nigerians, philanthropists and corporate organisations to assist her so she
could undergo a corrective surgery in Israel.

“Please, help me because I don’t like my present
condition. Now, I cannot stay wherever is hot. I must stay indoors in the
afternoon because of the sun. Please, help me. I pray that neither you nor your
children will have this kind of experience. The explosion has spoilt my
beauty.” Charity’s mother, Mrs. Grace Nnamezie, described the incident as an
attack masterminded by evil forces. “How could the fire burn my daughter and
didn’t touch the keg, containing the kerosene?” she wondered.

While Charity can be contacted on the mobile numbers
08032229181 and 08033037223, a bank account number 0005774736 has been opened
in her name, Charity Nnamezie, at the Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos branch of the GT Bank.

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