- He took substance voluntarily, I’ll still deal with him when his health improves – Boss
Bizarre is the only word that can adequately capture the alleged ordeal of a driver, Mr. Lamina Hammeda, in the hands of his employer over an allegation of theft levelled against him at his workplace.
Hammeda was allegedly forced by his boss, Mrs. Chinyere Emily, to prove his innocence by swearing and drinking a lethal cocktail of acidic substance.
Consequently, Hammeda is now lying critically ill and fighting the battle of his life in a hospital in Badagry, Lagos. He is now said to have lost his speech while his body continues to balloon!
The father of four was, until the incident, one of the drivers in a sachet water company owned by Emily.
The company is located at 30, Agbele Road, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos, where the incident occurred. Our correspondent gathered that the ordeal of the victim, who resides at 3, Car wash, Abule Panu, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, began when his boss accused him about three weeks ago of stealing five vehicle batteries belonging to the company.
Upon discovery of the alleged theft, Emily was said to have ordered her other employees to apprehend Hammeda, who they tied down for about 24 hours before he was allegedly forcibly given acidic liquid taken from one of the vehicle batteries.
A neighbour to the victim, who simply identified himself as Babatola Lateef, told our correspondent that Hammeda’s life was now on the line as a result of the acidic substance he was allegedly forced to drink. Lateef added that the ailing Hammeda had been taken to about three different hospitals since his ordeal began.
He said, “As I speak with you, it is only God that will save Hammeda’s life. He has been taken to three hospitals since this matter happened, yet he cannot talk and his body keeps swelling.
”What I heard about the case is that he had an issue with his boss in office, who ordered that he should be beaten and also forced to drink acid water.
Since then, his wife and family have been carrying him from one hospital to the other for treatment.”
Another neighbour of his, who identified himself as Kolawole Azeez, said,” There have been several complaints about that woman (Emily) on how she maltreats people working in her pure water company.
On several occasions, her workers have protested, because she’s in the habit of ordering her relations working with her to beat them up.
She is even suspected of using charm on her workers, because when you get there you will see how she deals with them like slaves.”
Azeez also said Emily had been warned by people in the area to desist from ill-treating and physically assaulting her workers whenever any of them erred.
“On many occasions she has been warned not to beat her workers anymore, but she would not heed the warnings,” he said.
Wife of the victim, Mrs Rasheeda Hammeda, who spoke with our correspondent, lamented that her husband could not open his mouth to utter a word since the incident occurred, adding that he had become dumb.
Rasheeda added that her husband had been taken to various hospitals to seek treatment for his critical condition without any improvement on his health.
According to her, Emily was heartless for allegedly locking up and beating Hammeda until he fell into coma for allegedly stealing vehicle batteries.
“My husband works at a pure water company, Igbogbo, Ikorodu. He has been working there for some time.
Last year, his boss locked him up twice in Kirikiri for damaging her vehicle. He was taken to court the first time; he was returned home, but later taken back to Kirikiri with the claim that he had not spent the required time in prison.
The woman called him back to work in January. But early this month, she started another case against my husband, saying five batteries were missing in the office and he was the one who stole it, as revealed by a native doctor she consulted over the theft.
“Five days after the allegation against my husband, he was locked up by the woman in her office.
Days later when we didn’t see my husband, we were looking for him until we were hinted that Madam Chinyere had locked him up in her office.
On getting to the factory premises in company with other people, we saw my husband groaning in pain inside the room where he was locked up.
We broke into the office, but we discovered that he couldn’t talk again! Workers in the company told me that Madam Chinyere and some of her people locked him up in her office, where he was seriously beaten before they forced him to drink acidic battery water to prove that the allegation against him was not true,” she said.
Speaking further, the pregnant woman said she could not believe that her husband could be forced to drink the acidic substance until doctors at the health centre in Igbogbo and the Ikorodu General Hospital, where he was earlier admitted for treatment, confirmed it.
“When the workers in the company earlier told me that my husband was forced to drink battery water, I could not believe it until doctors at the health centre in Igbogbo and Ikorodu General Hospital, confirmed it, that he truly drank acid, which had started affecting his intestines,” she said.
Our correspondent learnt that Hammeda is currently in a hospital in Badagry, Lagos, where he is receiving treatment.
He is also expected to undergo surgery soon. Emily, however, denied beating and forcing the victim to drink any acidic substance.
She explained that she only asked the other workers in her company “to hold him down” while she went to the police station to report the matter and never ordered that the victim be bound as being alleged.
Emily added that Hammeda voluntarily drank the acidic substance without being forced to do so by anyone.
Recounting her alleged bitter experience with victim since she employed him as a driver in her firm, Emily told our correspondent on the phone, “He has turned this factory to something else. When he first came, some two years ago, he spoilt two of my trucks. He poured sand, salt and chemicals on them.
The case is even in court. Later, out of pity, when people started begging me, I recalled him to come and work with me again.
Then I told him that I will withdraw the case from the court based on his performance. He was in Kirikiri for more than six months.
“Now, he stole five batteries in my company within three days. Before then, he connived with a driver and stole N19,000 cash.
He confessed to have stolen the batteries. And I told people in my office to hold him down in my office while I go and call police.
Within this period, he went to the interior part of the office, where he took the acid and drank it himself. We asked him where he sold the batteries, but he said instead of naming the buyers of the batteries, he would prefer to die.
This boy wants to destroy my company, God will destroy him! It was shame that made him to drink the battery water.
It was when he was drinking the acid that people in the office rushed to him, and then I was not with them because I went to call police.
On getting to the factory premises in company with other people, we saw my husband groaning in pain inside the room where he was locked up. We broke into the office, but we discovered that he couldn’t talk again!
Then they rushed him to hospital.” When asked about the efforts she had made since the incident, Emily retorted, “I am waiting for him to get better before I pick him up and deal with him. I am just cooling down for him now.
His health is not my business. I didn’t give him the battery water to drink. What is my business if he is alright or not? Tell me. I am looking for my battery. Do you know how much the batteries are sold now?
It is more than N100,000. So, what is my own? The head of Community Women’s Right Foundation, a human right foundation, Comrade Lateef Akinborode, said investigations into the matter was already on.
“The case was reported to us and we are currently investigating it. Though our office has heard a lot about the woman in that community, on how she usually maltreats her workers, we don’t want to rely on hearsay.
We believe police, too, have been informed about the matter and we will also contact them. The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde FamousCole, said his office was not aware of the case. “We are not aware of the case, but I will find out from the division in the area”, he said.
