Last words from Izuchukwu ‘Izu’ Madubueze, a US-based Nigerian, who committed suicide after he was said to have been falsely accused of sexual assault, have surfaced and gone viral on social media.

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Nanichi Anese, a self-acclaimed social media influencer, had included Izu’s name in a list of more than 100 people she dubbed sexual abusers, adding that they should be avoided for “safety purpose.”

After requests by the 23-year-old creative designer to get the details of the claim against him were turned down, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office later said he shot himself dead on July 16, 2020.

In the wake of calls on social media platforms for justice for Izu, a video clip surfaced online wherein the entrepreneur could be seen reading out his last words before taking his own life.

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In the over 8-minute clip, Izu called on those in the position of influence not to silence the accused when the latter seeks to defend themself on sexual assault allegations.

“When you see injustice, please speak up. Some people who felt I was unjustly accused, reached out to me. But they were scared to speak up because they did not want to be attacked or associated with the whole drama that this turned out to be. In your fight to become the voice of equality, do not silence others. Understand what a safe space is first before you claim to create it,” the deceased said.

“Thursday, July 16, 2020. I feel like saying some last words before I leave. In the last couple of weeks, I have seen tweets. I have heard from several people. I have also seen some people who I expected a lot more from stop tweeting me and I wasn’t even given a fair chance to clear my name or explain my own side of the story or verify whether the allegations against me were true or not.

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“To my family, first of all, I apologise for bringing disgrace to your name. I love you unconditionally from the bottom of my heart. To my mum, I pray that you stay strong. To my dad; he always said God won’t give me a burden too heavy to carry. But the last three years were the heaviest moments of my life.

“I have been struggling with my mental health for some time now and my close friends and some members of my family know I tried to commit suicide last year, and I failed. I started getting better with some self-therapy. But, right now, this whole situation reiterated why I don’t need to be here.

“If there’s one thing I’m proud of, personally, I have always been direct even when uncomfortable. If I wronged anyone and found out, I apologised immediately; I tried to sort things out. Personally, I don’t like drama or stress. I’ve also tried to help as many people as I can in my short time here.

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“But I am not perfect and nobody is. Till my death, which is today, I maintain that I don’t know the person who said I sexually harassed her after she blocked me, who I wronged, or how. To the girl who posted the list, thank you. Like I told you, Nani, I can’t shoot the messenger.

“But your attitude towards or to work towards clearing up accusations was piss-poor. You denied me the opportunity to clear my name and you refused to tell me exactly what I did that was harassment, even after I provided proof that I didn’t harass this person. I reached out to them to apologise; only three text messages. And I never in any way harassed this person. I never did.”

Izu’s family had on Wednesday expressed sadness over his death, stating that the unproven allegation had negatively affected Uhuru Designz, his company.



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