Like many Nigerians working under
similar conditions, took everything calmly even though she complained to
her close friends that she was in deep pain put up a bold face and
continued with her duty, bearing the shame and physical assault in her
stride all in a bid to secure her job and that of two of her siblings
who also works in the company.
However; when the news of her assault
reached her two siblings; they made an attempt to retaliate on her
behalf, Ossai dissuaded them from physically roughing up Noine, begging
them to consider the financial burden they bear with the twelve thousand
naira month salary paid each of them, as any attempt to confront Noine
will eventually lead to their collective loss of income, a situation
they cannot cope with giving the fact that they have an aged sick mother
to take care off as well as other regular and emerging bills to pay.
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. When bold
members explained the development to SARS operatives they refused to
make any arrest, but advised that they don’t constitute a breach of
public peace, and should proceed to engage the services of a legal
practitioner.
All attempt by National Daily to get an
audience with the Area F Commander and the Investigating Police Officer
(IPO) over this incident as at press time proved abortive, but one of
the Inspectors who was on the failed arrest bid directed this medium to
the Public Relation Unit of the Command at Oduduwa in the Ikeja
Government Residential Area.
The company’s Administrative Executive
Mr. Abass acknowledged the incident but adds that the company has
settled with the Police and that every enquiry over the incident should
be directed at the authorities of the Area F Lagos Police Command with
whom he claimed they have settled and resolved this matter.
Several calls made to Ngozi Braide Lagos
State Police Public Relation Officer was not picked nor returned, even
this text message “The crime desk of National Daily Newspaper will want
to know the investigation status on the assault of a female Nigerian
supervisor in Toppan Packaging Limited, Ikeja Mrs. Alice Alessandra
Ossai by her Lebanese Manager Mr. Kaveh Noine which led to the loss of
her 7 month pregnancy. The case was reported at the Area F police
command” sent to Braide over this development was neither acknowledged
nor replied to.
Sources say that this is one of the many
physical assaults meted out by the said Noine on casual staff members
on weekly basis. On Saturday December 7 Noine slapped and kicked one Ayo
Philips whom he summarily dismissed from work and made to forfeit
payments and monies due him. 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”.
