Patrol Commander John Joshua, Assistant Superintendent of Police attached to Ajao Estate Police Station Lagos State, lost his eyesight while attempting to stop over 500 angry Factory workers who were looting the warehouse of Chi Industries Ltd. The company made a distress call for Police intervention & protection. They claims that they were been attacked by Hoodlums, which can be seen as deception on the part of the management. This event took place on December 31, 2016. A day that should be a preparatory day for the New Year for ASP and his family but turn into day of regret, sadness and anguish for the family. He got injured in the process of keeping the citizens and businesses safe as he was attacked by angry Factory workers who have taken strategic positions in the warehouse, with plan to attack them. As they entered into the company’s premises to maintain law and order, the workers charged and attacked him with Caustic soda missiles which was poured over his head and as such affected his eyes. He was rushed to hospital and since that time have been left to die.
According to Summit Healthcare Hospital Ltd. (Eyes Foundation), he will need about N2.5million to do another set of surgeries (Invoice attached), this was in 2017, after expending his life savings and his family’s goodwill on the earlier treatment. When he was told about the surgery and how much it would cost, he had felt sure that the company, which he lost his eye sights fighting for would come to his rescue.
Joshua’s staunch trust, however took a devastating blow. CHI Limited was not forthcoming as the ASP had expected. According to him, till date, the company had abandoned him to his fate. Joshua, almost in tears said that he couldn’t imagine groping in darkness for the rest of his life.
Speaking with our correspondence in his house, Joshua said that CHI Limited, promised to take care of his eyes treatment. Joshua said that doctors had advised that the operation should be carried out immediately so that his eyes wouldn’t degenerate retrogressively into complete blindness.
He said “Right now, I’m slowly going blind. And if the eye surgery continued to be delayed, my two eyes would undergo retrogressive degeneration or I may completely go blind”.
He was left with nothing as Police and Chi Nigeria Ltd., have abandoned him to his fate and none has come up with anything to help his condition. Is this the country of our dreams? Where we seek law enforcement officers to risk their lives for our sake? Who will read this kind of pathetic story about the system and still put his bet to save us all. Two years gone and no help in sights. This man is now having difficult in fulfilling his fatherly duties as he also a widower, all because of one silly incident that Nigeria Police Force HQ and Chi Nigeria Ltd., refused to take responsibility for his wellness. ASP Joshua is not even asking for compensation, just for them to take care of his eyesight before he goes totally blind.
ASP Joshua was in tears as he narrates his plight in the hands of Nigeria Police Force and Chi. He even went as far to bring in Femi Falana, the popular human rights activist-cum-lawyer into the matter, he was appointed a lawyer to take care of the case but he suspected that Lawyer was compromised by Chi as he stopped picking his calls for updates on the case. He also went to Office of Public Defender just to ask for his rights too but none is forthcoming.
I write this today to intimate you of the rots and decay that corruption have bestowed on our institutions. We are in trouble because the Nigeria of our dream might never come in our lifetime or our children’s if we keep valuing money over lives.
I appeal to all those concerned too take up responsibility and give this man his eyesight again.