Izuchukwu Madubueze, a Nigerian entrepreneur, shot himself
dead in Florida over an allegation of sexual assault, US police has revealed.
The Punch reports that Travis Sibley, spokesman for the
Pinellas County Sheriff’s office, confirmed the development while speaking on
the circumstances surrounding Izu’s death.
Sibley noted that the Nigerian died after what seemed a
“self-inflicted gunshot wound” last week in a suspected case of suicide.
“Izuchukwu Madubueze was the victim of what appears to be a
self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 16, 2020. The case is open and active and
no further information will be provided at this time,” he said.
The 23-year-old creative designer’s death comes after
Nanichi Anese, a self-acclaimed female rights activist, had included him in a
list of “sexual offenders” which she published on her Twitter page in June.
Izu, worried by the allegation, was said to have contacted
Anese for clarification on whom his accuser was, noting he had not sexually
abused anyone before.
The self-acclaimed influencer, however, declined to reveal
the identify of Izu’s accuser, claiming she had promised not to divulge the details.
The development was said to have culminated into frustration
for the young Nigerian who would later announce in a scheduled tweets that he
had taken his own life.
His death had provoked outrage on Twitter with many calling on appropriate
authorities to ensure those behind his death were brought to book.
Izu’s family, in a statement on Wednesday, expressed sadness
over his death, adding that the unproven allegation had negatively affected him
and Uhuru Designz, his company.
“Sincerely, a part of us has been chipped away forever. Izu
was a truly inspiring and kind-hearted young man, who always tried to
positively impact the lives of everyone he came across. He was accused of
‘non-physical sexual assault’ and his name added to an unauthorised sex
offenders/rape list,” the statement read.
“Pleading his innocence, Izu tried his best to reach out to
his anonymous accuser and the peddler of this list, but his pleas fell on deaf
ears. He battled with the unimaginable pain of seeing his credible name and
brand, which he laboured to build for six years, go to waste over these
questionable allegations, which go against his family and societal values.
Broken by the stigma of these events, he chose to depart this world.”
The family also called for investigation into Izu’s death,
noting such would serve as a deterrent to people who accuse others of sexual
assaults with “sinister motives.”
“Our family will be at peace so long as the death of our
beloved son serves as a deterrent for false accusations, especially false rape
accusations by people with sinister motives,” it added.
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And how does taking your own life clear your name of an accusation? Instead of you doing your best to get a detective to investigate the matter and subsequently clear your name in court, you took the coward way out and killed yourself. You made a terrible mistake forgetting you will stand before the throne of your maker to answer.
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