I feel terrible about this story.
According to reports online and twitter, Workers in a Lagos based packaging and printing company, Toppan Packaging Company Limited located on Ladipo Oluwole in Ikeja Industrial Estate could not believe what they witnessed on Friday the 13th December 2013. When the shift manager, a Lebanese; Kaveh Noine beat up the Cleaning Unit Supervisor Mrs. Alice Ossai in their presence, due to what he deemed negligence on her part, his grouse, a portion of the factory is littered with dirt and she failed in her responsibility to rein in her team to keep the factory floor spick and span.
OAP Dotun Cool FM created an awareness on twitter this morning about the situation. No one is happy about this story. So sad Mrs Alice lost her baby because she didn’t do her duties on time.
Pregnant Ossai was helped home by some of her co-workers and her siblings that day; she resumed work the next day a Saturday 14th December even as the pain continued intermittently, even in pains and being pregnant, she carried out her supervisory cleaning assignments in order to save the family income. On Sunday she rested at home being a work free day even as the pain increased. She resumed on Monday but the pain had increased considerably and she could not carry out her cleaning supervisory assignments, at a point she leaned on the mop stick and clutched her stomach.
By 10 pm on Monday she noticed patches of blood on her underwear, the flow progressed steadily and rapidly into clots of blood dripping out of her. Family members had to rush her to Glorious Mercy Hospital close to her house where a Caesarian Section was carried out on Ossai, the Medical Director said that Ossai prognosis revealed that the Placenta progressively detached from the walls of Ossai’s Uterus, thereby Oxygen and other vital nutrients were denied her Feotus; in the days after the assault, hence the need to evacuate and save Ossai’s life.
Efforts by Ossai family members to arrest Noine yielded no result as he was said to have travelled to Canada on official assignment; but National Daily newspaper investigative team discovered that Noine was indeed in the office when a detachment of policemen from the Lagos Area F Police Command stormed the Oluwole Ladipo office of Toppan Packaging Company to effect his arrest. He hid in one of the disused offices and was later ferried out through a rear gate. Staff members pointedly assert that the police detachment is in collusion with the management as they failed to conduct a thorough search even when they were given a tip about his where about.
Ossai’s family members refused to leave the premises of the company since they are aware that Noine is hiding in one of the disused offices in the company and the detachment from Area F were only playing to the gallery, it took a detachment from the State Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) allegedly brought in by Toppan’s management, to forcibly dispersed them on Tuesday the 17th December.
Some sources even mentioned that the man in question Mr Noine is on the run.
A physically drained Ossai while speaking with this medium on her sick bed said she never envisaged that she will be in this condition. She regretted not reporting the assault to the police immediately the incident happened. In her words “It is the consideration for survival and the pervasive unemployment in the country that made me stomach the assault and the insult, I considered the fact that I am a casual worker and I have a sick and aged mother to take care of, I was expecting my baby in couple of weeks, I need money to take care of my delivery and the expected child, even when my siblings with whom I worked together in the company were going to have a show down with Noine I stopped them, I even went to work the following day in pains till I almost collapsed on the factory floor on Monday.
“Now I have lost on all fronts, I lost the baby, I lost the job, my health is in jeopardy and my spouse and I are in debt due to Noine assault. Now my family members are running from pillar to post to raise the money to pay for the Caesarian Section, I learnt I was given several pints of blood and I have received other drugs and medications”.
Elvis Ossai, Alice spouse said the fate that befell his wife is quiet unfortunate and avoidable. He offered that the officers and men of the Lagos Area F police command disappointed him over the way and manner they handled investigation into this incident; “I make bold to say to Nigerians that they connived with the management of Toppan Packaging Company to shield a foreigner who beat up Nigerian in her own country from facing justice. The assault on my wife led to the loss of a seven month pregnancy; instead of a naming ceremony we just conducted a funeral, we were denied the joy of parenthood just as we were looking forward to it”, Elvis said in an emotional laden voice.
Now that we know of Alice story, what about other women who work in these so-called factories who are assualted like this but decided to keep to themselves because of their survival in Lagos and their job. Her employer is not even paying her up to the minimum wage.
We demand the government / non government organisations should make sure the following are done;
- We demand Justice 4 Mrs Alice
- If he is found guilty, Mr Noine should be prosecuted.
- The company should be closed down.
Comments 1