Sunday, 23 June 2013

Rights’ group seeks justice for injured orphan

Author(s): Patience Ogbo
Respite seems to be on the way for 21-year-old Chukwudi Adimoha, whose fingers were crushed while working with an Indian polythene manufacturing company in Lagos. A non-profit human rights advocacy group, Crime Victims Foundation, are intervening to assist the orphan in getting justice.
Chukwudi, a Junior Secondary School drop-out left his village, Arochukwu in Abia State for Lagos in 2012 in search of greener pastures. After months of searching, he got a job as a machine operator with the Bhojraja Industries PLC located in the Ilupeju area of Lagos. But a few months as a machine operator left him without a thumb, and two fingers crushed.

Chukwudi Adimoha’s finger after the removal of the plaster.

His pleas to the company for assistance, as he could no longer use his fingers, have thus far, been futile.
Enter Crime Victims Foundation

The Crime Victims Foundation has become a counsel to the orphan to seek redress over the injury. Sarah Unobe, a lawyer with the foundation said they decided to assist Chukwudi get justice as he has a right to be treated with dignity in his work place.

“This is sad that an orphan is trying to fend for himself and his other siblings but in the process of his honest toil, the company’s machine crushed his three fingers and they have refused to compensate him after they saw that he cannot use his hands to work any more We decided to wade into the matter and help him get justice. We have written a letter to the management of the Indian company but they have not replied us.

The machine amputated a part of Chukwudi’s finger meaning that he no longer has full use of his thumb.

“We have decided to take the matter to the office of the Public Defender so that this poor orphan can get justice and his due compensation because as it is now, the poor boy has three younger ones he is catering for but he can’t any more because the machine crushed his fingers and they relieved him of his job; he can’t get job anywhere else too and this is very pathetic,” Unobe said.