Chiemerie Anieke in a chat with The Nation newspaper at the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) where his case was transferred to denied most of the allegations, including droog addiction and returning home late on the fateful day. He however confessed to kiIIing his master, Ikechukwu Nwite, with pestle as well as attack!ng his sister with the same object.
He said: “I came over to Onitsha in 2023 to learn the trade at the instance of my elder brother who had connection with my master.
“I had to agree to relocate to Onitsha since my parents, who are peasant farmers, could not sponsor my university education even when I had passed both West African Examination Council (WAEC) and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exams.
“I had to agree to relocate to Onitsha since my parents, who are peasant farmers, could not sponsor my university education even when I had passed both West African Examination Council (WAEC) and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exams.
“My relationship with my master was cordial until recently. I remember one of the days I came back from church activity and my Oga (boss) p0unced on me, insisting I should tell him where I went to.
“I reported that experience to my elder brother who linked me up with him, but my brother advised me to patiently endure and see the mal treatment as part of the apprenticeship experience.
“In July last year, I met with a friend in Ogbo-Ogwu Market, Nnabuife and requested for his assistance to open a bank account for me so I could be saving money there. He agreed and opened the account, which I kept monitoring through PoS until it got to N5 million and I requested Nnabuife to help me withdraw the money.
“By then, I was already planning to quit apprenticeship to enable me establish mine. But by the time Nnabuife (who also is currently in police custody) withdrew the money, the amount he handed over to me was not complete. It was roughly above N3million.
“When I complained, he threatened to collect the entire money, insisting it was his own gain for assisting me to open the account and monitor it.
“This got me angry because I had already planned what I would do with the money.”
Asked what triggered the m0rder incident, he said: “I came back from the market around 7.30pm on that Saturday. I didn’t come back late, neither did I visit any girlfriend.
“Rather, I was not feeling fine. I noticed that my head was aching and I had to visit a chemist shop where I bought some drugs.
“Meanwhile, I took permission from my master’s sister before going. But before I came back, she had already called my boss to tell him that I was not at home, and he instructed that they should not let me in.
“Meanwhile, I took permission from my master’s sister before going. But before I came back, she had already called my boss to tell him that I was not at home, and he instructed that they should not let me in.
“I was outside for a long time before my Oga’s wife, who was ignorant of the directives from her husband, opened the door for me.
“I remained in the kitchen till around 3am when my master returned, and as he entered, I took the pestle in the kitchen and hit him thrice in the back of the head.
“I also dashed to the room where the sister was sleeping and hit her too. She suddenly woke up and struggled over the pestle with me before rushing out to call for neighbours’ intervention.
‘Why I k!IIed my boss’
“I had been hearing rumours that my master had learnt about my savings, and was planning to collect the entire money and punish me severely.
“Since I was already fed up with what I was doing and had decided to quit so I could use the money to set up my own business, I had no option but to take the action.
“Besides, I had also begged him several times to buy a phone for me, being the only person in the entire compound without a phone, but he refused.”
Chiemerie, who denied his actions were triggered by drugs or alcohol, blamed it on the devil.
He said: “I used to take tablets of Tramadol. But when my Oga discovered I was taking the drug, he warned me to stop and I obeyed. I was not taking the drug before I came to Onitsha. So it was neither drugs nor alcohol that caused it.
“I can’t just explain what came over me on that day. I think it was the devil’s manipulation.
“Actually, my intention was not to ki ll him, but the maltreatment, especially the call from my Oga’s sister to him and his instructions to lock me out of the house, forced me to act that way.
Asked how he felt after the incident, the innocent looking but fearless boy, who showed no sign of remorse or penitence, said
“I’m ready to face the consequences; whether death by hanging or by shooting. I am ready to die and face judgment, because I know I will not be forgiven even if I ask for it,” Chimerie said.
-The Nation
Small devil. You master refuse to get a phone for you but you have 5 million as savings. Where did he get such amount of money from as an apprentice, probably stealing from his master or doing illegal business.
ReplyDeleteThat same pestle should be use to hit his head 10 times. Nonsense.
All the aforementioned excuses are nasty..he should die by cutting his manhood first, next day, his tongue..oloshi
DeleteNothing justifies taking a life. May God comfort the family. If he could. If he could save millions quietly he could have quietly left too. Small body big dark 🕶️ engine. May the oga's soul rest in peace
ReplyDeleteIt looks like he was stealing from his Boss and using drugs too.
ReplyDeleteNo need to explain.
ReplyDeleteYou will do jail!
The jail?
DeleteSo funny...this idiot will be released later. How I wish people like this are thrown into the lion's den
No need for further investigation, they should kill him.
ReplyDeleteBut Ogas should mind how they treat their nwa boi.
That was how one Oga at cooperative line at Onitsha main market use to slap his boys all the time.
Very wicked man.
No need for further investigation, they should kill him.
ReplyDeleteBut Ogas should mind how they treat their nwa boi.
That was how one Oga at cooperative line at Onitsha main market use to slap his boys all the time.
Very wicked man.
Wicked soul. No justification
ReplyDeleteOmo, this boy is harder than the devil himself
ReplyDeleteSo, with the the money he saved, he couldn't buy himself a phone, abeg. this story no add up. His intention wasn't to kill him, but he used a pestle to hit his head, 3 times. Rot in hell.
ReplyDeleteDon't mind the wicked thief. Did he come there with any money?🙄🙄🙄
DeleteHmmmm...
ReplyDeleteHow can we possibly prevent situations like this? My heart bled when I read this.
You don't have any reason to Unalifed anyone no matter whatever your boss has done to you. His wife will forever regret for opening the door for this evil boy.
ReplyDeleteMay God rest his soul,maybe his reason for not buying a phone for you was to prevent stealing without knowing that you all are 10 miles ahead,evil boys
ReplyDeleteHe must have gotten some from market runs and some, he must have stolen
ReplyDeleteUngrateful soul.
ReplyDeleteHardened criminal.. rot in jail.
ReplyDeleteSpeechless. They should just burn him alive to serve as a warning to those behind.
ReplyDeleteWicked small boy. He acted under the influence of something. He is done for life
ReplyDeleteYou have no reason at all whatsoever to take another person’s life
ReplyDeleteA whooping #5million from someone else business, may God save business owners.
ReplyDeleteHe's not Boi boi but a born criminal.
Rot in jail wicked soul
The boy definitely had the plan to unalifed his boss. They should just do his wish which is hanging him.
ReplyDeleteAnger...
ReplyDeleteYou will learn the hard way in prison
Something is not being told. If what he states is true then the relationship was contentious from a long time, and it feels like there was something else going on there. I wonder why the trainer did not send him home and why the apprentice remained. Apprenticeship is not prison, you can walk away from it if it is not working out. He could have taken his 3 million and go back home to where he came from, he wasn’t going home empty handed.
ReplyDeleteEvil boy..
ReplyDeleteAll I see is power, humiliation, fear, intentional stealing and impulse colliding in a rigid apprenticeship structure. I think the Igbo apprenticeship system, which is built on hierarchy should be reformed. The master controls mobility, money, and information. The apprentice who is expected to endure, often finds a way to steal the master dry. That could be because endurance is so normalised, that resentment has no safe outlet but to harden quietly.
ReplyDeleteThe young man’s savings raise legitimate suspicion. Five million naira is not casual money for an apprentice. Whether earned or diverted, secrecy suggests distrust on both sides. Once he believed his funds were under threat, his thinking shifted from patience to survival, like any desperate human. That is not a justification. It is pattern recognition, which is inexcusable.
Violence in this case was premeditated. Waiting until 3am and striking the head three times and pouncing on the master's sister shows grave intent. Blaming the devil avoids accountability. Anger, perceived humiliation, and fear of financial loss are sufficient human motives for crimes.
Nothing excuses crime. But prevention requires thorough reform. Masters must abandon intimidation and bespoken wickedness. Apprentices must have transparent financial structures and external oversight. Power without accountability will surely breed instability.
The public outrage is predictable. Just that sometimes this system suppresses dignity only to incubate explosive responses. The law will punish him severely as it should be. But the culture of intentional implication must be examined also.
You get 5 millions naira but you no fit buy phone from it
ReplyDeleteYou're just wicked and heartless 💔