Fourteen-year-old carpentry apprentice, Lekan Dauda, said he knew that his boss, identified simply as Gbenga, preferred punitive measures to corrective ones whenever he (Lekan) erred.

But by his account, the apprentice never envisaged the traumatic experience he had on May 11, 2010, in the hands of Gbenga, the man asked to teach him carpentry.

Lekan told PUNCH METRO that his problem, which had confined him to hospital bed for two months now, started when he lost N3,000 deposited by a customer for a carpentry job.

He said, ”It (N3,000) was for a job that we were supposed to do for him (customer). I put that money in my pocket and was doing other things. Later, I went to the toilet and the next thing I observed was that the money was no longer in my pocket.

”It was while I was searching for it everywhere that two of our neighbours in a nearby shop asked me what was wrong. After I had explained to them, they beat me with electrical wire and said I was lying.

”Immediately my boss came, they told him and I also explained my own side of the story. His friend came around and asked him to beat me and make sure that I confessed.”

Lekan said he endured the beating and refused to cry. But his stoic endurance invited more trouble for him.

Determined to get the ”truth” out of the apprentice, Gbenga and his friend allegedly tied Lekan‘s hands and legs and hung him by the hands to the door of the shed built in front of the carpenter‘s shop at Aladura, Jakande Ilogbo, Okokomaiko. They packed saw dust under his dangling legs and set the saw dust ablaze. As the saw dust smoldered, they asked Lekan to confess.

He, however, said that since truth was constant, he maintained his earlier stance that he did not hide the missing money. ”But truly I did not hide that money or steal it. I told them that it might have fallen from my pocket, but they did not believe me. They continued to add more saw dust to the fire so that I would confess. I refused to cry and I refused to confess because I did not steal that money,” Lekan said.

But Gbenga and his friend were determined to smoke the ”truth” out of Lekan to the extent that they did not perceive the odour coming out from the young lad‘s burning legs. ”Some passersby told them and they cut the rope tying my hands. That of my legs had already burnt. Immediately they cut it, I fell because I could not stand again,” Lekan told PUNCH METRO on his hospital bed at Ever Life Hospital, Ijanikin, Lagos.

Lekan was taken to a nurse around the area and when it dawned on them that it was more than what the nurse could handle, he was taken to the hospital.

Although Lekan‘s father, Fasasi, reported the matter at Ilogbo police post, he however told PUNCH METRO that he was more concerned about his son. ”I want him to get better first, and then I will go back to the police station. Someone told me that if I involved the police now, Gbenga would not contribute to my son‘s hospital bill,” he said.

Our correspondent however learnt that the matter had been turned into a family affair because Gbenga and Fasasi are relatives. It was also gathered that Gbenga paid N15,000 to the hospital.

But a coalition of non-governmental organisations including Gender Equity and Development Initiative, Women Law and Development Centre Nigeria, Innovative Strategy for Human Development and Female Leadership Forum, has vowed to ensure that justice was done on the matter.

The Executive Director of GEDI, Mrs. Morenike Alaka, who spoke on behalf of the coalition, said the group wanted two things done. She said, ”One, why is Gbenga and other people who violated that boy are walking free? Forget the story of the father; the fact is that the police have the father‘s statement, which is enough for them to start investigation.

”Two, psychologically the boy is traumatised, there is need for him to go for treatment and don‘t let us forget the fact that the hospital bill is there. The man paid a deposit of N15,000 and since then, he conveniently made himself scarce. The fact is that Lekan has run a bill of N150,000 in that hospital and don‘t let us forget that the hospital is not a charity centre, who will pay? And frankly, we don‘t think Lekan should go back to that Gbenga.”

But Gbenga told our correspondent on the telephone that he was not as wicked as people think. ”That boy has stolen my money more than four times and in this instance we wanted to scare him. We did not know that the fire was hurting him, the boy did not make one sound, and he was just looking at us. Nobody planned it this way. I did not run from that hospital, I paid N15,000 and I have paid another N5,000. I am still going to give more. Lekan is my relation, I would not hurt him intentionally,” he said.

The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Olusola Akinmolayemi, said Lekan took his first step last week after almost two months of being incapacitated in bed. ”He suffered a third degree burn. That means that the burn had gone beyond the skin and gone to the muscle. It had affected the colloid, the ankle joints were stiff; he was in a bad shape when he was brought here. But he is healing well, we are exercising the ankle and I believe he should have a normal life after his experience,” Akinmolayemi said.


Despite the doctor‘s assurance, Lekan‘s legs still ooze with putrid smell. He said although he liked carpentry, ”I don‘t want him again, he scares me,” he said.


Lagos State police spokesman, Mr.Frank Mba, told our correspondent on Sunday that the police had commenced investigation into the incident after waiting for Lekan‘s father in vain.

Jesus.


@Op: please put viewer discretion so that people who cannot stomach this gruesome picture can stay out and save themselves the accompanying misery.

My lord! what am i to say?. justice will take shape, i believe that