A former staff member of Dangote Agrosack & Packaging company, located in Ikeja, Lagos State, Leo Njison, has accused the company of neglecting him following his recent disengagement after nearly seven years of active service.

Njison told Saturday PUNCH that he joined the company in 2016, but his ordeal began in October 2017 when he had an accident that fractured his leg.

“I was on my way to the office that fateful morning when I had the accident, which left me unconscious for weeks,” Njison recounted.

He added that after he regained consciousness, he found himself in a hospital with his left leg badly injured, adding that one of his colleagues who saw him at the accident scene took him to the company’s hospital, Hosaina Maternity Home, for first aid.

As the clinic lacked the necessary facilities for proper treatment, Njison said he reached out to the company’s Human Resources Department to request a transfer to a better hospital, but they declined.

“I called the management through the head of the Human Resources Department. I pleaded with them to take me out of the clinic because I was dying gradually, but they refused to take any action,” he lamented.

According to Njison, after several weeks of neglect, his condition worsened, forcing the company to consult another hospital that referred him to Igbobi Orthopedic Hospital.

He said the doctors at Igbobi hospital recommended amputation, as the injury had developed into bone cancer.

“The doctors told me the only option was to amputate the leg because the cancer had spread above my right knee. That was how I became a man with one leg,” Njison said through tears.

He said the management of the company promised to provide him with an artificial leg but failed to do so, forcing him to rely on crutches.

Instead of fulfilling their promise, Njison said, the company ordered him to resume work in 2019 on crutches or face salary termination.

He said he was eventually sacked in January 2024 without any compensation.

“I worked diligently and tirelessly for this company, and the reward I got was a sack letter without any form of compensation. I had an accident while in active service and lost one of my legs, yet the company failed to provide me with an artificial leg. I humbly seek justice,” he lamented.

Speaking with our correspondent, the Administrative Manager of the company, Alhaji Idris Ali, dismissed Njison’s accusations, insisting that the former employee was fabricating stories to elicit public sympathy.

Ali acknowledged that Njison indeed suffered an accident that fractured his legs but the company never abandoned him.

“He is only making up stories so that people will feel sorry for him. Yes, he had an accident, but it was entirely his fault,’ Ali stated.

He noted that the company provided a staff bus for employees to commute between home and work. But Njison repeatedly ignored the arrangement, choosing instead to hitch rides on moving trailers.

“That was his usual habit. Most times, he was lucky. But on the day of the accident, luck ran out. He grabbed onto a moving truck, lost his grip, and fell. One of the heavy-duty vehicle’s tyres crushed his legs,” Ali narrated.

Despite this, Ali insisted the company immediately stepped in to assist him.

“As soon as we were alerted, we rushed him to Hosana Hospital in an ambulance, where he was stabilised. After five days, the company transferred Njison to another hospital before finally taking him to Igbobi for specialised bone treatment.”

Ali emphasised that the company did not abandon Njison even when doctors at Igbobi diagnosed him with bone cancer and recommended amputation.

“After his leg was amputated, we provided him with crutches. We had already reported his case to the National Social Insurance Trust Fund as an industrial injury case. NSITF later gave him an artificial limb and has been paying him monthly compensation ever since,” he explained.

Ali further alleged that Njison had refused multiple invitations to collect his pension, despite still carrying the company’s ID card to mislead people.

On why Njison was eventually dismissed, Ali said, “He was a habitual drunkard. Sometimes, he would urinate inside the factory when intoxicated. We tolerated his behaviour for a long time, but it reached a point where we could no longer condone his excesses.” (Saturday PUNCH)