A father of four, Salahudeen Komolafe, is appealing to the management of Intermarket Tobacco Distribution Company in Lagos State to foot his surgery bills.
Komolafe worked for 10 years as a sales representative of the company located in Marina, Lagos State but sadly an unfortunate robbery incident, during the course of his job, rendered his left hand useless.
The robbery incident, in 2005, badly affected his hand and for more than five years, he has not been able to make use of the hand.
Komolafe said armed robbers attacked him when he was returning to the office after collecting a huge amount from tobacco sales.
He said the armed robbers pounced on him at Ijora-Olopa, a lagos suburb, with the intention to steal the cash but he waded them off and got injured in the process.
He said he had decided to go public with his plight as efforts to get the management of his company to provide cash for his surgery had fallen on deaf ears.
Komolafe said: “I had collected the money and was heading back to the office.
“This was in July 2005 when at Ijora-Olopa a gang of robbers attacked me.
“I was riding okada (motorcycle) with the box of cash behind.
“The armed robbers tried to get hold of the millions of naira I was carrying but I waded them off.
“I fought them and in the process as I tried to escape, I was injured.
“My left hand was broken but I did not mind because I secured huge cash I was carrying and brought it safe to the office.”
Komolafe added that he was rushed to the hospital where the doctor said he would amputate his hand.
He added: “The hand was badly damaged and the doctors said they would amputate it but my family refused.
“I was later taken to a traditional healer where I stayed for one year and eventually the hand was healed.
“Later. I started feeling sharp pains and I went back for treatment but I was told the hand can only be fixed by corrective surgery.
“I went back to my company and they gave me a paltry amount of about N50,000.
“Since the pain was too much, I had to resign since I could not use my hands to work.
“I have been jobless since nobody wants to employ me.”
Komolafe said he had to seek the intervention of the Citizens Rights Network to take up his case but the efforts had not yielded any positive result.
He said: “I could not pay a lawyer so I went to the government and they gave me a lawyer from the Citizens Rights Network.
“When he wrote a letter to the company, they denied that I got the injury while working for the company.
“We had to get medical reports from the company’s hospital as proof.
“Then they later told the lawyer they will give me N200,000.
“This amount is nothing compared to the N3 million I need for the surgery.
“I have appealed to them but they did not bulge that is why I came to the media to help me.
“I have children that are out of school because I can’t fend for them.
“I need my hands to work and that is why I am fighting for my right.
“I am sad because the company has not treated me right.
“They did not appreciate my efforts.”
When contacted, the Human Resource Manager of the company referred our correspondent to the company’s lawyer.
When the lawyer was contacted, she said: “I am not talking to journalists.
“I will not talk to you.”
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