John Paul, a Nigerian soldier, died on Thursday after a 10-month battle to recover from third degree burns. His family said a friend held on to $7,506 donated for Paul’s treatment.
Nzube Chukwu, an X user, narrated how Uchechukwu Robbin Okeke, a Nigerian resident in Atlanta, absconded with $7,506 meant for her cousin’s medical bills after he suffered third-degree burns as a result of a gas explosion in his home in Nigeria.
Chukwu told FIJ on Saturday that John Paul, her cousin, experienced a devastating gas explosion on November 15, 2023, fought to stay alive but died on Thursday because Okeke failed to remit the funds that were donated into a GoFundMe account meant for the medical bills.
She added that she could no longer reach him because he deactivated his Instagram account.
Chukwu also narrated her cousin’s ordeal on her X account.
“A GoFundMe account was set up with his friend, Uchechukwu Robbin Okeke, who is based in Atlanta, to help with Paul’s medical expenses, as he could not use a Nigerian account. The account raised was $7,506, but Uchechukwu sent only a fraction of this to Paul — just N800,000 in small, inconsistent amounts after so much persuasion,” Chukwu’s post read in part.
Chukwu also stated in her post that Paul contacted Okeke on different occasions, but he (Okeke) would only send irrelevant amounts like N15,000 and N20,000 after months of persuasion, and his health kept deteriorating until he no longer had the energy to reach out to Okeke.
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Paul’s cousin described Okeke’s actions as cruel and heartless, and urged him to transfer the remaining funds to Paul’s grieving mother who left her job in Lagos to care for her son until his death.
“We call on Uchechukwu Robin Okeke to transfer the remaining funds to Paul’s grieving mother. This money is rightfully hers and desperately needed. Paul struggled so much to live, but he is gone now after suffering so much. Uche Robbin has gone to lock all his accounts,” Chukwu said.
“If anyone has information on how we can get hold of Uchechukwu Robbin Okeke, please reach out to me. This is wickedness from the pit of hell, and he has to send every penny to Paul’s mother.”
