A 43-year-old carpenter, Uchendu Jacob, and his 32-year-old wife, Chidinma, who were injured in a kerosene explosion have appealed to the general public to help them with hospital bills.
Both of them were rushed to Madonna Hospital, Umuahia, Abia State, around 3am on the August 4, 2018, but weeks after the incident, our correspondent observed that they were still in pain.
The couple have therefore called on Nigerians to come to their rescue as they could not afford the hospital bills.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Jacob said he bought a bottle of kerosene from a roadside seller on Uwalaka Street, Isigate in Umuahia to light their lantern.
He said at about 11pm at night, his wife woke up to refill the lantern that was about to go off with the kerosene he had bought, but that what followed was an explosion.
The carpenter said he woke up and went straight to the room to save his three little boys, saying it was in the confusion that he fell inside the fire twice.
He explained that the burns on his body were more than the ones sustained by his wife because he fell inside the fire twice. Jacob, however, said he was happy that his three children were unhurt.
He expressed gratitude to Madonna Hospital for commencing their treatment without deposit.
He revealed that they were at the mercy of the hospital as they had been unable to deposit any money, adding that they owed the hospital about N700,000.
He, therefore, pleaded for support from Nigerians.