Mr Pius Kwado, a former staff of University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, on Thursday told a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Gwagwalada, FCT, that he lost his left eye in a fight over a piece of farm land with his former colleagues.
Kwado made the allegations while testifying during the resumed
trial of his ex-colleagues, Emmanuel Akor, Sunday Osaretin and University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) .
Led in evidence by his counsel, Patrick Onuh, Kwado said that on April 16, 2019 at about 7 a.m while farming on a piece of land inside the hospital he was approached by Akor (Ist defendant) to vacate the land for him to farm.
“I have been farming on that land for so many years before the incident happened.
” On that fateful morning, Akor asked me to leave the land because he wanted to farm on it too. I told him I cannot leave because I’ve cleared the land to plant my crop.
“I advised him to look for another place to farm.
“During the argument, he called Osaretin (2nd defendant) who came with a car and ordered me to enter the trunk but I refused.
“The second defendant beat and punched me in my left eye and called two security guards of the hospital who forced me into the car. I noted that my left eye was bloodied.
“They took me to the police station, where the police asked them to take me to the hospital before they listen to them.
“I received three stitches in the eye in UATH and was booked for surgery as a result of the damage to the eye.
“I called the second defendant who promised to foot the bill for the surgery but on the day of the surgery when I called him and he refused to pick, saying that he cannot be part of it again,”.
Kwado said that he could not afford the N35,000 for surgery, N10,000 for bed and N5,000 for drugs.
“I lost my left eye,” he said.
He tended the hospital card, x-ray result, drug prescription form and payment code paper as exhibits.
“I can’t farm again, I can’t pay my bills, I can’t take care of my family and am the breadwinner. I am doing my PHD in ABU Zaria, I can’t read, I can’t see with my left eye all these things are affecting me.
“Am asking for N2.5 million in damages,” he said.
After listening to the testimony, Magistrate, Ibrahim Yusuf, adjourned the case until Oct. 6 for cross- examination of the plaintiff.
