On July 20, 2018, Muyibat Onilude, a mother of two, was walking home in the Okota area of Lagos, when a faulty Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IKEDC) wooden electricity pole collapsed and struck her from behind, causing her to fall into a flooded roadside gutter.
Onilude’s head was forced into the dirty water by the pole and the impact of the strike knocked her unconscious.
Luckily, her seven-month-old son who was strapped to her back at the time of the pole collapse was unhurt.
After this horrible incident, the mother of two was first taken to the Isolo General Hospital, but the medical experts on duty were unable to attend to her due to the severity of the injuries she had sustained.
Afterwards, she was referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit.
At LUTH, doctors would later confirm that she had suffered a burst fracture of the cervical vertebrae, spinal misalignment, spinal cord compression and a mild traumatic brain injury.
Above all, and despite the many surgeries Onilude subsequently had, the 35-year-old mother was rendered unconsciousness for four months. She was in a coma.
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Onilude is now fully paralysed and suffers constantly from chronic pain, loss of bladder control, frequent seizures, sleeplessness and unpredictable drops in body temperature.
‘MEDICINE ATER DEATH’
While speaking in an interview with FIJ on Monday, Onilude said, “I lived on Agbeke Street, the particular street where the IKEDC pole fell on me, actually.
“I was on my way home after closing for the day from work when the pole collapsed on me.
“When the incident happened, some of my family members visited the IKEDC office in our area to register their displeasure against them, letting them know that the pole had injured me.
“As a matter of fact, the electricity pole had been a threat to the people living in that area, because it had been in a decaying, deplorable and acutely bent state for years.
“Despite all the concerns raised by residents, however, the power distribution company left the decaying pole bent and dangerously close to the path plied by people on Agbeke Street for several months.
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“Afterwards, the doctors attending to me in LUTH requested that my husband visit our area and take a picture of the pole.
“When he got there, however, he found out that the pole was no longer lying on the street. It was at that point that he was told by other residents that the IKEDC officials had secretly come in the late hours of one night to take it away from our neighbourhood.
“That was a ‘medicine after death’ gesture.
“All through that period in late 2018, I was in a coma. I was unconscious for four months.”
STAGNATION
The Lagos resident further told FIJ that the incident had brought stagnation to her life.
“The incident has completely destroyed the once good life I had going for me and my family,” said Onilude.
“It has brought stagnation to my life. My family members and loved ones spent over N30 million on my treatments and medical bills alone.
“I had my first surgery in LUTH in November, 2018, and it gulped several millions of naira.
“After the surgery, I was also advised to take up aggressive therapy sessions by the doctors attending to me.
“They gave me the advice in their bids to ensure that I got back to full fitness.
“This was after I had my first surgery. A physiotherapist would also always visit me five times every week to ensure everything was fine with me.
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“At a point, I also engaged local therapists, I mean trado-medical practitioners, in my desperation to get well and regain full fitness on time.
“I also spent a fortune on that. Thankfully, I was able to move my muscles a bit through the sessions, but in a wider sense, I am still paralysed.
“This is because I have been rendered permanently immobile and can no longer walk and move about however I wanted, and on my own.”
DEPENDENCE ON CAREGIVERS
Onilude went on to tell FIJ about how her family employed two caregivers so that her immediate needs could be catered to.
“At that point, my family had to employ the services of two caregivers so they could help me take care of the house and my children as well,” said Onilude.
“I could no longer carry out a complete task on my own and had to always rely on their assistance for help.
“I rely on them to cater to my personal needs because I could no longer take care of myself. I pay them N60,000 each on a monthly basis.
“As I am talking to you, I have already defecated on myself.
“This is because I no longer have any control over my body system. Once the urge comes, the faeces come out unhindered.
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“This is because I no longer have the ability to hold whatever is about to come out of my body till I am able to drag myself to the toilet.
“My doctors told me the muscles that are supposed to prevent solid waste from coming out from my body are no longer active. They are now very weak and no longer function effectively.”
‘MY HUSBAND LEFT ME TO START ANOTHER HOME WITH ANOTHER WOMAN’
Onilude also told FIJ how her husband, whose name she preferred not to mention, left her to start another family with another woman.
“Before the accident, the relationship my husband and I had was strong, romantic and pleasant,” said Onilude.
“We had a happy home and things went effortlessly well for us. There were even times friends, who were close to us, would cite our marriage as a good example of a happy and healthy relationship while discussing relationship matters.
“We used to live in a four-bedroom apartment in Okota, and never had any disagreement or any serious couples fight.
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“After I had the accident, he first sold some of his property to pay for my treatments and medical bills.
“He spent most of the money he once used in running his building material business on my treatment. He also went as far as securing millions of naira in loans from banks to take care of my medical bills.
“At the beginning of 2021, however, he became quite depressed when my condition would not in any way improve.
“He would snap at me at the slightest of provocations, and would also no longer laugh at utterances and remarks he himself used to treat as mere jokes.
“There were even times he would describe me as a heavy burden and I would start crying.
“What used to be a happy home later became a home full of sorrow, sadness and fights.
“To be fair, he had already exceeded my expectations by selling most of his property to ensure I healed.
“It was unfortunate that our marriage eventually fell apart.”
Onilude told FIJ that her husband later resolved to staying away from home, without bothering to tell anybody his whereabouts or location in the same year.
“In November, 2024, I finally got to find out that he had married another woman,” said Onilude.
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“I fainted several times when I got to find out last year.
“He has remarried and now has two children with his new wife. In all honesty, he still takes care of the two children I had for him in our marriage.
“My mother takes care of one of our kids while his mother takes care of the other one.
“His decision to move on and marry another wife marked the end our marriage.”
CURRENT SITUATION
In the same November 2024, Onilude was forced to move out of her four-bedroom apartment in Okota, when she could no longer afford the rent.
She now lives in a room and parlour apartment in Iba Town, still in Lagos.
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“The pole accident has led to a great deal of misfortune for me,” said Onilude.
“I have lost the ability to run my affairs myself, carry out physical tasks on my own, and have become a burden to many.
“I now beg and rely on friends and family members for help.
“I also now reside in a room and parlour apartment in Iba Town, after I could no longer afford the rent of our former apartment in Okota. Things have spiralled out of control for me.”
Onilude also told FIJ about how a US-based institute informed her physical therapist that a stem cell treatment could help bring her challenges to an end.
“When my therapist sent out an email recently to a US-based institute, they responded saying stem cell treatments could make me get better,” said Onilude.
“The institute said the treatment is patient-funded and starts from $20,000.
“I can not even afford that at the moment, but I want to get well, be back on my feet and be able to go back to my graphic design and art painting profession. That used to be my life and I loved it.”
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ONILUDE’S LAWYER SPEAKS TO FIJ
On Wednesday, Omobolaji Adejumo, Onilude’s legal representative, told FIJ that he had sent letters to IKEDC twice, but the distribution company elected not to respond on both occasions.
“We have written IKEDC twice on the matter, but have not gotten any response from them,” said Adejumo.
“As a matter of fact, they (IKEDC) did acknowledge receipt of the letters with a time stamp on both occasions. We, however, never got any response from them.
“We are still on the matter and hope that in the end, Madam Onilude gets justice.”
FIJ sighted one of the August 2024 letters Onilude’s lawyer sent to IKEDC. The victim’s legal representative demanded a N5 billion compensation on her behalf.
The lawyer also noted that Onilude was open to a settlement out of court, but IKEDC has not responded to any of the letters it received to date.
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NO RESPONSE FROM IKEDC
On Wednesday, FIJ emailed IKEDC, demanding to know if the pole accident that led to Onilude’s paralysis was ever brought to its attention.
The electricity distribution company was also asked why it had not taken any step to support the victim since 2018.
IKEDC had yet to respond to FIJ’s email at press time.
The post Electric Pole Fell on Lagos Resident. IKEDC Did Nothing as She Fought Total Paralysis for 7 Years appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.