The Anambra State Government has arraigned a married couple, Chisom and Chukwudi Chukwuyere, before the state’s Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court in Awka over allegations that an 11-year-old boy living with them was repeatedly assaulted and burnt with melted plastic.
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The couple appeared before the court on October 16, 2026, on a five-count charge arising from the alleged abuse of Chiziterem Frank Ozuruigbo. They pleaded not guilty to the charges, after which their lawyers indicated that they wished to explore a plea bargain with the prosecution. No plea-bargain agreement has yet been concluded or approved by the court. Pasted markdown Pasted markdown
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Anambra State, Tobechukwu Nweke, SAN, personally led the prosecution, marking a fresh stage in a case that attracted widespread attention earlier in the year following the circulation of photographs and videos showing injuries allegedly sustained by the child. Pasted markdown
According to the charge, the prosecution alleges that the boy suffered repeated physical assaults while living with the couple in Obosi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The wife is specifically accused of repeatedly assaulting the child and applying heated, liquefied plastic to his body, causing severe burns. The husband is alleged to have failed to obtain appropriate medical treatment for the boy and to have kept him away from school. Pasted markdown
The five-count charge includes allegations of conspiracy, grievous harm, attempted fatal injury, offensive conduct and knowingly placing the child in fear of physical injury.
In particular, one count accuses the couple jointly of causing grievous harm through repeated beatings and the application of melted plastic, while another separately accuses the wife of attempting to fatally injure the boy through the alleged assaults and burns.
The remaining counts accuse the wife of offensive conduct and knowingly placing the child in fear of physical injury. The full charge sheet was not reproduced in the reports reviewed, so the allegations remain subject to proof before the court. Pasted markdown
The case first came to public attention in June 2026 after neighbours raised the alarm over the condition of the child and images of his injuries circulated online.
Police reports at the time alleged that the boy had been subjected to repeated beatings, starvation and burns from melted plastic. Residents also alleged that he had been tied up and confined behind the house.
Police spokesman SP Tochukwu Ikenga was reported to have said that the principal female suspect admitted during interrogation that she used burning plastic to injure the child. That account remains a police allegation and does not amount to a finding of guilt by the trial court. Pasted markdown
The child’s parents, who are from Umuofiagu-Ukehe in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, reportedly said they had entrusted him to the guardian in the hope that he would have a better future.
The wife of the Anambra State Governor, Nonye Soludo, subsequently visited the boy in hospital and condemned the alleged abuse. The state government reportedly supported his medical treatment, and by July 18, he was said to have recovered sufficiently to be discharged from hospital. Pasted markdown Pasted markdown Pasted markdown
Before the latest arraignment, the couple had appeared before a Magistrate’s Court and were remanded in a correctional centre in connection with the allegations.
The October proceedings therefore represent a continuation of the prosecution rather than the couple’s first appearance before a court over the matter. Pasted markdown
During their formal arraignment before the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court, the defendants pleaded not guilty.
Their lawyers thereafter indicated an intention to pursue plea bargaining.
The prosecution’s immediate response. A detailed account stated that the prosecution did not oppose the defence’s intention to explore plea bargaining, while other accounts indicated that the state would consider any request in light of the gravity of the allegations, the interests of justice and the public interest.
What is clear is that no final plea-bargain agreement, reduced sentence, conviction or sentence has yet been recorded. Pasted markdown
The defendants are therefore still standing trial, and the allegations against them remain unproven unless and until established by the prosecution and determined by the court.
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