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My Leg Was Amputated After I Was Shot By Soldiers At Lekki Toll Gate, Rejected By Vedic Hospital — 23-Year-Old Cobbler [PHOTOS]

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Twenty-three-year-old Olalekan Faleye, a survivor of the shooting that attended the peaceful #ENDSARS protest at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, says he has become an amputee after the gunshot injuries he sustained to the leg on Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

He had undergone surgical amputation of his bullet-ridden right leg.

The shooting incident had attracted national and international outcry, with the Lagos State and Federal governments being urged to unravel the identity of the shooters and who deployed them.

Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Newspaper a few days after he was discharged from the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, Olalekan said until the Lekki shooting, he had temporarily worked as a labourer with a construction company in Ikoyi to raise money for his ‘freedom’ as an apprentice cobbler.

He also planned to use whatever was left after his freedom ceremony to rent a shop where he could carry out his cobbler trade.

“Any time we had little or nothing to do at the construction site, I would join the #ENDSARS protesters at Lekki Toll Gate to demonstrate against Police brutality and bad governance.

“I recalled attending the protest on three different occasions (October 15, 16 and 17) before the soldiers’ invasion on October 20,” he said.

Struck By Soldiers’ Bullet

Looking pale and sad, he struggled to recollect the incident of the Black Tuesday, saying the whole episode still feels like a bad dream.

“They (soldiers) arrived in a group and, without warning, started shooting at us. As people ran helter-skelter, I recalled hearing the protest coordinators screaming, ‘Don’t panic, sit on the floor together and keep waving the Nigerian flag.’

“But it was too late. People panicked when they saw the soldiers advancing and shooting at us.

“In the panic that ensued, I was hit on the right leg by a stray bullet. The force of the shot was so intense that I found myself on the ground, writhing in pain and with so much blood gushing out of my leg.

“I was there for some seconds, feeling weak and fatigued before some fellow protesters came to my rescue. I was held by both hands and legs as they continued running while also dodging the flying bullets,” he said.

Olalekan disclosed that after his bullet-riddled leg was tied up with what looked like a shirt, he was rushed along with three other victims of the shooting to Vedic Hospital in Lekki.

“At Vedic, I was denied admission when the medical official saw the state of my bloodied leg,” he alleged.

The 23-year-old said he kept getting weaker as he was being conveyed by the rescue team in search of another hospital.

“That was how I ended up at Grandville Trauma Centre. After examining the leg, one of the doctors who attended to me announced that my limb was in a sorry state because the high-velocity projectile forcefully pierced through the muscles and blood vessels in my leg from one end before coming out at the other end.

“Consequently, I was asked to drop the contact of my parent or guardian because of the complex nature of my case,” he said.

Olalekan’s Diagnosis At Grandville

Olalekan’s medical statement, which was written on Grandville’s letterhead and secured by our correspondent, states, “To whom it may concern, OLALEKAN FALEYE MALE/23 years. The above-named patient presented to our facility four days ago (20/10/2020) around 23.28 pm due to a gunshot injury to his (R) leg in about 2 hours after the incident.

“He sustained this injury as a result of his involvement in the #ENDSARS protest that occurred at the Lekki toll gate.

“He was initially taken to Vedic Hospital and then brought in here for further management.

“On presentation, GCS 15/15 O2 Sat; 98% pain and severe bleeding from the gunshot site with a point of entry and exit of the bullet. He was unable to lift his leg and move his toes.

“Diagnosis made was (i) leg injury from gunshot (ii) imminent compartment syndrome.”

The medical paper which was signed by a certain Dr. Adebayo and countersigned by Dr. Umukoro further reads, “An exploratory fasciotomy was done on the right lower limb to litigate severed blood vessels. Five units of packed RBCs were transfused over the course of admission as the patient came in with Hb of 5.6g/cll. No pulse (dorsal pedis, tibia post and ant. Arteries) was felt.

“Patient was placed on antibiotics (IV Rocephin, IV Flagyl, treated for malaria (Im arthemeter 160mg) and analgesics.

“Patients relatives have been counselled on the need for an amputation of the patient’s leg but they would need a second opinion. For further clarifications and enquiries, kindly call the hospital.”

Experts say a fasciotomy or fasciectomy is a surgical limb-saving procedure when used to treat acute compartment syndrome.

At Igbobi Hospital

After four days of admission at Grandville Trauma Centre, the patient was given a referral letter to a federal teaching hospital in Lagos for intensive treatment.

“My admission request at the teaching hospital was rejected by the management over inadequate bed space. They, however, recommended a private amenity ward within the same facility.

“When we got there, the officials said I could only be admitted if my people made a down payment of N50,000. Consequently, my mother had to secure an ambulance that took me down to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos,” he said.

“Before then, I recalled hearing the doctor at Grandville saying that my leg might likely be operated. That was the same comment I received again on the day the ambulance brought me to Igbobi. My mother screamed ‘God forbid!’

“I was completely dejected. I kept looking at the affected leg, wondering if that would be the last time I would see it. However, I braced up myself and signed the consent form against the will of my mother. It was like a death sentence and I feel it would forever remain the worst decision of my life,” he added.

PUNCH HealthWise visited NOHIL on Wednesday, and requested to speak with the medical director of the hospital, Dr. Mustapha Alimi; but he was said to have travelled out of Lagos for a conference.

Further attempt to see the facility spokesperson, Mrs Ayo Adenike, also proved futile as she was also not available.

However, one of the consultant surgeons on duty agreed to speak with our correspondent on condition of anonymity.

Olalekan’s Mother Breaks Down In Tears

Back home at her one-room apartment in Alimosho Local Government of Lagos when PUNCH HealthWise visited, Olalekan’s mother, Mrs. Temitayo Faleye, struggled to put up a smile and gently roused her son from sleep.

A popular noodle seller in the community, Mrs. Faleye told our correspondent that she sensed something was wrong with her son on the night he was shot.

“I was feeling uncomfortable throughout the night. At a point, I had to rouse myself from sleep to pray against perceived evil or demonic attack. It was shortly after the supplication that I received a call that Lekan had been shot at the toll gate and hospitalised somewhere in Lekki.

“At first, I feared he had probably died and that people were not willing to tell me. I headed to the health facility around midnight just to be sure he was still alive. That was the first time I would be in Lekki in my entire life,” she said.

N206,000 Medical Bill At Igbobi

The woman said she almost fainted when she was presented with a bill of N 206,000 at Igbobi.

She protested that her son was a survivor of the #ENDSARS protest and shouldn’t have to pay for his treatment.

“The medical team didn’t believe me and wanted to know why he didn’t present early at the facility that fateful night or the day after. It wasn’t until they saw the Grandville’s medical record that they agreed to reduce the bill. That was in addition to some injectable and pints of blood donation that we secured.

She said the crutches currently being used by her son was donated by some sympathetic workers at Igbobi.

My Son Now Miserable, Temperamental

When asked how she was coping with the challenges of having to bathe, feed and cater for her son all over again, Mrs. Faleye broke into tears.

“This trial is too much for me, considering the fact that his father has been down with stroke for seven years.

“Sometimes, I spend as much as N15,000 on transport fare to convey him [her husband] from Alimosho to Igbobi or Island General Hospital for a check-up and back again.

“Worse still, my son has never remained the same ever since he lost his right limb. Olalekan has become miserable and temperamental. He won’t talk to anybody and prefers staying indoor.

“Imagine somebody who used to love running around, playing football and attending to his shoe cobbling business now confined in one place. Of course, I understand his frustration. He is no longer a happy man,” she said.

She lamented that the October 20 tragedy could, perhaps, have been averted if she had worked harder to raise enough money to pay for her son’s ‘freedom’ and secure a shop for him.

She said the 23-year-old was adept at making shoes, belts, bags and leather sandals and had dreamt of starting his own shoemaking company someday.

“All those dreams are gone. Now, he finds it difficult to adjust to his new life. He felt sorry for everything that had happened. Sometimes, he would look at me, shake his head and say he is sorry for everything.”

 

Credit: PUNCH

BIG STORY

Federal Government Terminates Julius Berger’s Contract For Abuja-Kaduna Highway Rehabilitation

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The Federal Ministry of Works has instructed Julius Berger, the contractor responsible for the rehabilitation of Section One of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway, to vacate the project site.

This follows the issuance of a 14-day final termination notice on Monday, making it clear that no further negotiations would be entertained.

The ministry cited non-compliance with the revised cost, scope, and terms of the project, along with a halt in work and the company’s refusal to remobilise to the site as the reasons for the termination.

It was noted that despite ongoing negotiations over several months, there had been no meaningful progress.

A statement issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Mohammed Ahmed, on Monday in Abuja, confirmed the decision, which was made during a management meeting at the ministry’s headquarters.

Recall that the works ministry had in the last 13 months been in constant talks with the company, in order to reach an amiable position on the said alignment but to no avail.

The latest development follows an earlier threat by the minister to revoke the contract that was awarded to the company in 2018 when former President Muhammadu Buhari was in power.

While the Kaduna-Zaria section has been completed and the Zaria-Kano section is almost done, the Abuja-Kaduna section has recorded 27 percent progress in six years.

At an event penultimate week, Umahi accused Julius Berger of playing politics with the highway to make the current administration look bad.

Despite these efforts, an agreement was not reached between both parties, with the construction company not attending the scheduled meeting on Monday.

The statement read in part, “Based on non-compliance with the reviewed cost, scope, and terms, stoppage of work and refusal to remobilise to the site, as directed, the Federal Ministry of Works has issued a 14-day Notice of Termination to Messrs Julius Berger Plc for the Rehabilitation of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway in FCT, Kaduna and Kano States, Contract No.6350, Section I (Abuja-Kaduna), today, November 4, 2024.

“Nigerians may wish to know that the Contract for the Rehabilitation of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway, which was divided into three Sections was awarded to the company on December 20, 2017, and flagged off by the former Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Babatunde Fashola at an initial sum of N155.75bn on June 18, 2018. Sections II (Kaduna – Zaria) and III (Zaria – Kano) were partially completed and handed over during the twilight of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Since then it has been one variation and augmentation or the other and finally, the present Minister of Works directed the redesigning and re-scoping of the Section I of the contract. The alignment was divided into two with one phase redesigned to be on continuously reinforced concrete pavement, while the remaining with asphaltic pavement.

“Approval for Section I, Phase 1 for a length of 38km on the concrete pavement was given to Messrs Dangote Industries (Nig.) Ltd, while the remaining 127km remained with the substantive contractor. Phase 1 was flagged off on October 17, 2024, with a 14-month completion period.”

Mohammed further explained that a request to rescope the project was approved by the Federal Executive Council but the contract’s terms were not agreed upon by the contractor.

He added, “Due to the stalemate of the contract and, most importantly, the desire of President Bola Tinubu, as encapsulated in the Renewed Hope Agenda infrastructure initiative, to see to the completion of this laudable project, also to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians plying the road, the ministry re-scoped it and got the approval of the Federal Executive Council.

“The award for the Re-scoping and Downward Review of Contract for the Rehabilitation of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway in FCT, Kaduna and Kano States, Contract No.6350, Section I (Abuja-Kaduna) in favour of Messrs Julius Berger Plc from the sum of N797.26bn to N740.79bn was granted by FEC on September 23, 2024, and conveyed to the company on October 3, 2024.”

With the latest development, this means the Works Minister, David Umahi has revoked 11 contracts in 16 months.

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BIG STORY

Peter Obi Makes U-Turn, Says Position On Church Vigils Distorted

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Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, on Sunday, said his recent suggestion to convert ‘church vigils into night shifts’ has been misrepresented.

The former Anambra State governor, faced intense backlash after his interview on the Honest Bunch podcast aired on Saturday.

He stressed that Nigeria’s poverty and unproductivity stem from two major factors: politics and religion.

Specifically, Obi argued that Nigerians spend too much time attending church services from Monday to Friday, which sparked mixed reactions.

While some saw his statement as an attack on religious practices, others viewed it as a call to balance faith with productivity.

Reacting via a statement issued by his media aide, Ibrahim Umar, in the wake of the outrage, the former governor said his account was twisted and blown out of proportion.

The statement partly read, “Our attention has been drawn to a huge twist in his recent media interview, saying erroneously that he called for the dismantling of churches in Nigeria.

“By the headline given to the interview, the import of Obi’s message has been greatly overturned and grossly distorted to serve a mischievous end.

“The Labour Party leader is well known as a man of strong faith who has enormous respect and love for every religion and tried in the referenced interview to bring to Nigerians how religion can be more effective in their lives.

“Obi, in the interview, was merely underscoring what Apostle James said in ‘Faith without Works is unhelpful.’ When Obi said that he would turn night vigil into production night, he was only stressing the importance of worshipping God through work.

“Even Jesus Christ never picked any of his 12 disciples where they were praying but where they were working as fishermen and tax collectors, among others.

“What we are doing in Nigeria, which Obi’s interview is highlighting as wrong and should be discontinued, is exchanging work for prayer when the two should go together.

“There is no evidence in the scripture that Jesus blessed an idle person. The problem In some of Nigeria’s worship communities is that they are not following St James advisory that we should be doers of the words.”

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BIG STORY

EFCC Arrests Former Delta Governor Okowa Over Alleged N1.3trillion Fraud

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Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, on Monday in connection with the alleged diversion of N1.3 trillion.

The N1.3 trillion is said to represent the 13% derivation fund from the federation account between 2015 and 2023.

Sources within the EFCC confirmed that Okowa was taken to the agency’s office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he was subsequently detained.

One of the sources stated, “Okowa was at our Port Harcourt office following an invitation from investigators probing the allegations against him. He was then arrested. The commission is investigating him regarding the N1.3 trillion 13% derivation fund from the federation account between 2015 and 2023

“He is also accused of failing to account for the funds, as well as another N40 billion he allegedly claimed was used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas. He reportedly bought shares worth N40 billion in one of the country’s major banks, representing an 8% equity stake, to support the offshore LNG project. The funds are alleged to have been misappropriated for other purposes.

“Investigators are also examining the alleged diversion of funds by the former governor to acquire estates in Abuja and Asaba, Delta State. He is currently being held at the EFCC facility in Port Harcourt.”

When contacted, EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the arrest but declined further comment on the matter.

“He is with us,” Oyewale simply said.

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