A 74-year-old retired federal civil servant, Mr Oluyemisi Orisabiyi, is currently experiencing excruciating pains after a speeding truck belonging to the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps, knocked him down, ran over and broke his left leg on October 23, 2021, in the Iyana Ipaja area of the state.
Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps, formerly known as Kick Against Indiscipline Brigade, is an agency established by the state government to tackle street trading, the crossing of highways (shunning the use of pedestrian bridge on highways), among others, Orisabiyi was coming from the Mushin area of Lagos and heading home that fateful day when the incident occurred around 1:00 pm.
As he alighted from a public bus he had boarded that afternoon and attempted to continue with his journey, the speeding truck knocked him to the ground and ran over his left leg, leaving him completely immobile and temporarily unconscious.
People around the scene managed to stop the vehicle and forced the KAI officials to rush the 74-year-old man to a hospital for urgent medical attention.
Upon arrival at Ayinke House, a government-owned hospital in Ikeja, medical workers revealed that there was no bed space and as a result, Orisabiyi was taken to another hospital – Triumph Medical Centre, Ikeja, a private health facility.
It was while at that hospital that tests and X-rays showed the extent of damage done to the retiree’s left leg.
Immediately made to undergo a surgical procedure to fix his broken tibia, the man spent the next 13 weeks at the hospital, enduring pain and psychological trauma of all kinds – it was a terrible time for Orisabiyi and his family members.
“Immediately the KAI team that broke my leg dropped me off at the hospital, I never set my eyes on them again.
“Though some of their people came two other times to see me at the hospital, we have not heard any word from them again up till this moment.
“Despite a letter written to the management of the agency by the medical director of Triumph Medical Centre informing them about the severity of my condition and asking them for financial support towards my treatment, they did not respond despite acknowledging receiving the letter.
“The agency completely abandoned me and has been shielding their officials from punishment for breaking my leg and putting my life in severe danger.
“My family has spent over N3 million for the treatment of the leg and the process is still ongoing.
“The accident occurred while I was planning to visit my children in the US. It has disrupted a lot of the plans we had as a family.
“I have been living in pain since this accident occurred. I have not been able to walk or sleep well since that period. My entire life has taken a different turn because of the recklessness of the KAI team that knocked me down and broke my leg.
“The management of the agency cannot pretend not to know about my predicament, they have just deliberately abandoned me to suffer and bear the financial implication of the medical treatment. It is very sad on their part for behaving in such a manner,” the victim said.
According to the medical report of Orisabiyi’s condition as confirmed by Dr Deji Morenikeji, Medical Director of Triumph Medical Centre, the retiree sustained multiple injuries including a compound fracture of the left lower tibia associated with muscular and arterial injuries.
The report further said that the victim needed a total of N2,850,000 as of October 2010 for treatment, including physiotherapy after discharge.
The Lagos State Government agency has yet to take responsibility for the recklessness of its officials or punish those involved for Orisabiyi’s predicament.
Four months after that near-death experience, the 74-year-old victim lives with the pain, uncertain of what the future holds.
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