Beauty queen
rots in jail
Miss Igbo
abandoned in Kirikiri prison over inability to meet bail conditions
As a beauty
queen of a pageant involving the core five South East states, she is seen as a
symbol of the Igbo nation, and is expected to model the defining character of
the people- enterprise, industry and moral character.
And indeed,
a little into her tenure, Ugwu Joy, the reigning Miss Asaigbo 2016, showed
signs she meant business to live up to the billing.
The Enugu
State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Accounting student, who has
been a lone wolf fending for herself since she lost her parents as a child, set
up a foundation to care for the vulnerable and needy kids.
It was the
principal drive for contesting the beauty competition, she disclosed in a media
chat. “I had lots of things that motivated me to go for the Miss Asaigbo
pageant. First, to me, pageants are fun, sparkles, glitter and shine, also to
gain more self confidence, make new friends and enjoy the prestige of wearing the
crown in my community. But most importantly, my motivation comes from using the
platform to gain more awareness for my foundation, Feed the Poor and Orphan
Initiative. Knowing firsthand how it feels growing up without parents, the
passion for that kept me motivated and strong throughout the competition.
“My role
model was my mum, though I was three-years-old when she passed on. The little
memory and the stories I heard of her still make me smile when I remember them.
She was a strong woman and made sure we didn’t go hungry kid, or stop schooling
when my dad died, she’s and will always be my role model.
“Many
pageant winners are focused on the girl child programmes already, my main focus
now is not just the girl child, but every homeless, helpless and hungry kid on
the street. They need to be shown love and I hope to be the gap between them
and the rich that wants to help, but doesn’t know how to go about it.”
As part of
her humanitarian service, Joy recently visited the Enugu prisons where she
celebrated her birthday, lavishing goodies on the inmates. She has decided to
do more in her campaign to prevent youths from taking to crime. The decision
stemmed from an experience she said, she had during the visit to the jailhouse.
“On my
birthday, I visited the prisons with the goodies I got for them. Then, the
warden officer gave me a tour and while he was at it, two boys were brought in
and everyone started laughing and I asked why? He explained that the boys were
released just two days before, but were back, because all their friends and the
love they could get was in the prison yard, as they had no one to show them
love in the outside world when they were released. So, they had to commit
another crime in order to be brought back into prison. When I heard that, I
froze. Imagine what love could prevent in our society? Crimes and hate will be
reduced drastically if together we can make the world a better place,” Joy reasoned.
In this
interview, she promised to be a good role model to her increasing fans,
stressing: “The story of my life is enough inspiration to all who are looking
up to me, I lost my parents at age three, I didn’t blame God or blame anyone… I
folded my sleeves, worked very hard to get educated and prayed to God without
ceasing. If I could be something today, anyone can be whoever they want to be…
only God and yourself can.”
The irony
But, the
beauty queen seems not to have been true to her words, as she is herself today
behind bars. From the glory of her office, she has descended and now dwells in
gory Kirikiri prisons in Lagos, where she was remanded by a Yaba Magistrate
court for alleged involvement in N7.5million fraud, suggesting that her touted integrity,
diligence and selfless service have all been a facade.
The last in
the family of three and native of Eha-Amufu in Isi-uzo Local Government area of
Enugu State, police investigations revealed, had been an alleged serial
scammer, duping innocent Nigerians through a visa racket and ponzi scheme. She
landed in police net after series of complaints from some of her alleged
victims.
Saturday Sun
learnt that the embattled pageant winner had allegedly fleeced many ‘clients’,
who, however, lacked the nerve to report her because they were either
threatened or afraid of her touted status and influence, until one Jonathan
Nwaogu and Anita Oby reported her in Lagos and investigation was launched into
the complaints.
Joy had
allegedly failed to fulfill a contract to help Jonathan secure a visa for which
he reportedly paid million naira (N1m). She was said to have started evading
her client and avoiding his calls after the payment.
Joy also
allegedly duped Oby N2million through a ponzi scheme called “Me and You”
purportedly floated by the former. All went sour when one of the subscribers
refused to pay and the organisation could not refund Oby’s money.
Jonathan
said: “The girl duped me one million naira and the evidence is there. I didn’t
have much to say, because she said she wanted the matter to be taken to court.
What baffled me was the way she took the matter. It was quite obvious that she
defrauded me. All she needed to do was to surrender and settle for peace to
reign. I don’t understand why she decided to go to court; I heard the comments
she made in the police station. The money is just one million naira and she
behaved as if it was dollars. All I planned was to recover my money in a very
simple way.”
Saturday Sun
learnt that when she was first arrested in Enugu, the accused allegedly slapped
a police officer, bragging about her connections.
She was also
said to have had N7.5m in her account then, but allegedly made massive
withdrawals between the period she was temporarily released and rearrested, leaving
only N400,000 balance.
Although the
accused who also works with a company named FESTIVITY CAKES AND CRAFTS, was
granted bail, she was still in custody as at press time, as she could not meet
the bail conditions.
Bethel
Chikezie, who claimed to be a relation of Joy, told Saturday Sun: “The case is
not just a thing of today. The allegation was based on MMM, , I don’t know if
the person who reported her has any personal matter with her. Maybe the person
does not like her. MMM is not a recognised business in Nigeria, even the
government warned when all these things came up. The point now is that they
wanted her to pay for the thing, but she is saying no, because she did no
wrong. Everybody did MMM, her own case could not be different.”
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