When
a man, Alabi Olokode, made advances to Lateefah Adesope, a National
Diploma holder, the lady simply turned him down on the grounds that her
heart was not with him.
Like
a desperate man that he is, Olokode persisted. But Lateefah maintained
her stand. This, however, did not go down well with the desperate
suitor.
As usual, Lateefah set out for mosque around 5.30am on December 30, 2011, for her prayers.
She
said, “I was on my way to say my morning prayers at Tekunudeen Mosque,
Aboru on Friday, December 30, 2011, when Olokode, who was hiding near
the mosque, suddenly called my name. As I turned back, he poured a
liquid substance on my face.
“The
liquid went straight into my eyes and started burning my face. At that
time, I didn’t know it was acid but I just realised that I couldn’t open
my eyes because of the burning sensation I was having.
“When I started screaming, people around me confirmed it was acid because the substance consumed part of my veil.”
PUNCH Metro learnt
that Lateefah was immediately rushed to the General Hospital, Oke-odo
area of Lagos, where she was given first aid before she was transferred
to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.
It
was learnt that after spending a few weeks at the LASUTH, Lateefah was
told by the attending doctor that she would not be able to see again.
Lateefah’s
mother, Haulatu, who spoke to our correspondent amid tears, said she
had to take her daughter to another hospital for a second opinion.
She
said, “Lateefah was given treatment at the LASUTH but we were not
satisfied with their diagnosis because we felt the doctors there did not
do enough.
“The
doctors at the LASUTH were able to take care of her to some extent and
gave her some drugs to ease the pain but they later told us that she
would not be able to see again.
“I
took my daughter to Antilla Catholic Hospital Eye Centre, Agege, and
the doctors told us that if she had been brought earlier, Lateefah would
not have lost her sight.”
A
nurse, who claimed to be part of the team that attended to Lateefah
when she was brought to the eye centre, corroborated what the victim’s
mother said.
The
nurse, who declined to give her name, said, “When Lateefah was brought
in, her right eye was completely gone while the other one was glued
together.
“We
had hoped that when we opened the left eye, it would still be
functional but when we opened it, it was discovered that her cornea had
been badly damaged and the acid had destroyed other vital parts of her
eyes.
“If
she had been brought in earlier, the possibility of her regaining her
sight would have been high but the previous hospital where the family
claimed she was taken to, did not do enough.”
However, the LASUTH management denied complicating Lateefah’s case and insisted that she was properly attended to.
The Public Relations Officer, LASUTH, Mr. Dele Johnson, said the hospital remained one of the best in the country.
He,
however, took our correspondent to the Ophthalmology Department, where
the supervising doctor explained that attempts were made to salvage
Lateefah’s eyes.
The
doctor, who craved anonymity, said, “Lateefah was first taken to the
Burn Unit where irrigation was done to clean her eyes and face of the
acid. When Lateefah was brought in, the acid had damaged her eyes but we
tried for weeks to salvage them.
“We
also did prodding by applying an ointment in her eyes to prevent them
from closing and she could see partially within that period. Even during
the strike, she was attended to day and night and there were
improvements.
“However,
her eyelids later glued together despite all that and her globe was
ruptured. So, we did our best and I’m willing to write a full report to
clear any doubt that it was due to negligence of this hospital.”
Lateefah, who sobbed uncontrollably, told our correspondent that life had been unbearable ever since her ordeal.
She
said, “I didn’t offend Olokode in anyway, he had been making advances
at me and I refused to date him. So, he decided to destroy my life.
“I cannot see again, I have no fiancé, no child and all my dreams and aspirations seem like a fairytale.
“I
was still trying to gather money to go back to school so I’ll be able
to take care of my family but now I’ve become a liability to my family.”
Her mother, who spoke amid tears, said the family had spent all their savings on medical bills.
She
said, “Olokode was a customer at my canteen and had been telling me
since last year that he wanted to marry my daughter but I thought he was
joking.
“When
he persisted, I told my daughter and she said she was not interested in
him. I didn’t know he would go to such length to register his
grievance.
“I
am a widow, I have six children and no husband, we’ve spent all our
savings on hospital bills and still she may never see again.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba, said Olokode had been arrested.
He said, “Policemen attached to the Oke-odo Division were able to arrest Olokode on Sunday following a tip-off.
“The
suspect denied the allegations and said he was her boyfriend. He has
been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba,
and investigation is going on.”
According to Punch Nigeria
