If Mrs Helen Okoro, a widow and mother of two had known that
picking a quarrel with a neighbor who had stabbed her son would also land her
and daughter in hospital, she probably would have just
reported the case and allowed the law to do justice. She told Leadership
“We live at Adidas street, Tolu, at the shores of Tolu- Tin
can lagoon. Last year, Babalawo had a problem with my son, Godwin who is just
15 -years-old. One day, Godwin was carrying sand for somebody and Babalawo saw
him, picked up a bottle and attempted to break my son’s head with it but he was
able to escape and ran away from him. When I heard about the incident, I
confronted him but instead of making peace he threatened to kill me
and my children. So since then we have avoided him. What led to the problem
on November 14th was that I found a pair of slippers in the dustbin
and wanted to use it to make a fire. Babalawo saw the slippers with
Godwin and challenged him.
My son told him they belonged to his mother because I
brought it from the dustbin. The wicked and shameless man broke a
bottle and gave my son a hot pursuit. When he apprehended him, he stabbed him
in the head. People were begging the man to leave the little boy alone but to
no avail. When I returned home I was faced with that situation. When I inquired
why he should stab my son, he threatened to kill me. He wore the necklace I
gave my son, so I removed it from his neck after he struggled with me to retain
it. To my greatest surprise, he picked up a bottle and after smashing it
stabbed me close to my breast. I screamed that the man had killed me and as he
wanted to stab me in the face, I blocked the bottle with my hand.”
“There was blood all over my body. I thought I was
going to die. I could not bear the pains so I cried like a baby. I was screaming
and rolling in the pool of my blood until somebody called my daughter,
Blessing who rushed back home. On seeing me, she cried, thinking that the man
had killed me.”The man is a known Indian hemp seller in the area. He knew I
had nobody to run to. He knew I’m from a very poor family. He believed he would
kill me and members of my family and nothing will happen. From what has
happened so far, if this man kills me and members of my family the police will
not do anything.”
On filing a complaint
“Policemen at Tolu police station have taken sides”
They were protecting the man and he kept boasting that the policemen there were
on his payroll. He might be right, because the Investigative Police Officer
(IPO) who is handling the case is doing the wrong thing. He refused to make an
arrest and the suspect is walking free. The IPO did not include his name in the
statement form.The woman and her daughter in Femi Hospital,
Bale street, Tolu Olodi- Apapa, in tears, lamenting their agony and
humiliation. Their blood pressure ran high, not because of what the man did to
them but from how to raise N200, 000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) bills the
hospital had just presented to them.
Also, instead of rushing me and my daughter to the general hospital,
they abandoned us at Femi Hospital, Bale Street, Tolu, Olodi -Apapa. The
medical director of the hospital (Olufemi Ekanado) told my daughter and
I to pay N200, 000 before they could discharge us. My daughter’s bill is
N80,000 while mine is N120, 000. I’m a widow and a petty trader. I hawk sachet
water, so how can I raise such amount of money? All the money we have at home is about N20, 000 both my
money and that of my daughter. My daughter persuaded the doctor to
allow her go home and bring the little cash but he refused, saying we
must pay all the money. We have been held captive here since November 14, this
year when the incident occurred. The man who inflicted the injury in us did not
even come to say sorry. He never cared whether we survive or die. But God will
pay him back.”
“I would like either the Federal government or governor Babatunde
Fashola-led government to rescue us from this problem. I know Fashola is a very
good and kind Governor. He should see us as members of his family and assist
us.”Her daughter, 19 year old Blessing, an SSS 2 student of
Ojoku Senior High School, Tolu, Olodi- Apapa said, “Unless there is no law in Nigeria and unless all poor
Nigerians can never get justice, then this man will go scot-free. Everybody in
the area knows Babalawo is a very wicked man and Indian hemp seller. Police are
shielding him because he usually goes to the station to ‘settle’ them.
Government should step in, arrest and prosecute this man for multiple attempted
murder.”When Leadership visited Adidas street, close to Tolu -Tincan
Lagoon, people seemed to be afraid to say anything concerning Babalawo. They
either responded thus: “Please go, I don’t know who you are talking about,”
or “Please, I don’t know who you are. Go and search for Babalawo yourself”.Meanwhile, Leadership went to the station to see the
divisional police officer of the station, SP Mohammed Aminu, but he was available.
All efforts made to get the reaction of the State police spokesperson, DSP Ken
Nwosu proved abortive as he did not respond to calls.
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