BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
A four-year-old girl, Bianca Ezaka, recently cheated death by a whisker having fallen off a three-storey building in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.
Bianca, whose parents are from Ezza North Local Government Area of the state, mistakenly fell from the corridor of her parents’ apartment located at number 11, Umuoji Street, Abakaliki, while playing ‘hide and seek’ game with her other siblings.
The incident happened around 6pm, on January 18, 2022.
A neighbour was said to have rushed to the scene of the incident when she heard the sound of the toddler’s fall in front of her apartment. The little girl, said to have suffered dislocation on one of her arms, was rushed to the Emergency Ward of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki where she is currently receiving medical care.
In an interview, Eunice Ezaka, mother of the victim, expressed her gratitude to God for saving her child from death, confirming that she only suffered a dislocation on one arm.
According to Ezaka, mother of six, x-ray would be carried out on her child’s head to ascertain if there was any injury on the skull.
She said, “I am so grateful to God almighty for saving my daughter, Bianca, from the plots of the enemy. We have lived in this very flat for 10 years now and in my absence, the devil came to cause havoc, but I thank God for being God.
“I went out in the evening to check if I could get food stuffs to buy at the next street for dinner since I couldn’t go to the market because it was IPOB’s sit-at-home observance day, only for me to start having calls from my neighbours demanding that I should return home urgently.
“I was disturbed by the calls because I was not told what happened and my children were in good condition at the time when I left the house. They were playing when I left. I insisted that I must reach my destination and buy the items before going back. By the time I got home, my baby had already been rushed to the hospital.
“Please, I need prayers for her speedy recovery. I pray nothing happens to her skull. As for the hand, I believe that it will be fine within weeks. Anyone who cares should please pray for her speedy recovery.”
Veronica Offoregbu, one of her neighbours who was at home during the incident, said that initially, she thought that it was the children’s toy that fell off from the top floor of the house but later discovered that it was a child.
Offoregbu, who lives in the same building with the victim’s parents said, “The only thing I knew was that something fell from up to the frontage of my apartment because I live on the ground floor. I was inside the house but I heard the sound. I earlier thought that the children threw their toys down, so I didn’t bother coming out. It was after some seconds that I came out of my flat that I discovered it was a human being that fell.
“She (Bianca) was groaning in pain as she could not cry aloud.
I saw her siblings coming down from the stairs crying. It was, to me, like a movie. Immediately, I ran to carry Bianca and raised the alarm for assistance. It was then that I realised that their mother was not at home. Other neighbours came around and we rushed her to the Emergency Ward of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital.“
Their landlord, Chief Emeka Ogbuefi, expressed delight that Bianca didn’t die. He said that “I thank God that nothing adverse happened to her because people would have thought that I used her for ritual.
“Their parents have been living here even before they were born. I suspect that she climbed the railings in the course of playing. Thanks be to God for saving her life. It doesn’t take time for rumours to fly; the devil planned to use that girl to tarnish my image but thank God for averting it.
“I shall contact a welder to bar the frontage with iron in order to prevent a recurrence,” he said.
