LCC staff stabbed during #EndSARS anniversary protest narrates ordeal
...Solicits government's support, as Lekki Concession Company visits victim
Mr. Shina Edun, a Man-o-War personnel at the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) attached to Lekki Tollgate to ensure law and order, who was grievously attacked and stabbed in his abdomen by a protester last Wednesday, October 20 first anniversary of the EndSARS protest, has described his survival as the grace of God.
Edun, who is currently undergoing medical attention at home commended the management of Lekki Concession Company for their prompt intervention and rescuing him after the ugly incident and appealed to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to come to his aid to foot his medical bills.
Speaking to journalists, on Monday, when officials of Lekki Concession Company, paid a visit to his home in Ifako-Ijaiye area of Lagos State, Edun, who has been recuperating since he was discharged from the hospital following the incident said he was stabbed in the abdomen by one of the protesters who stood behind him.
It would be recalled that the Lagos State Police Command during the EndSARS memorial anniversary held at Lekki Tollgate, arrested a man with dangerous weapons at the spot of the event.
Some items recovered from the suspect included cutlasses, charms and all sorts, and he did confess to the Police that he was there to cause mayhem.
Speaking about his ordeal, Edun who struggled to utter few words as a result of the pain he is currently undergoing due to the injury he suffered in an attempt to protect LCC gadgets at the plaza, disclosed that “Around 11:30 am last Wednesday when the Police said all those who were protesting at Lekki Tollgate should leave, the person who was coming behind me stabbed me with a knife and before I could understand what was happening, I was rushed to Police hospital.
“The person that stabbed me is one of the protesters, those who were protesting to mark the one-year anniversary of EndSARS. I was stabbed in my abdomen in front of the Lekki Tollgate. I work with LCC and I was attached to them from Lagos State Ministry of Environment.”
Buttressing Edun’s claim, the Chief Security Officer of LCC, Mr. Solomon Tolofari who led some officials of the firm to Edun’s residence, where his wife and other relatives were met as a way of identifying with them and showing support during the family’s challenging time, said he deployed Edun alongside others at the Lekki Tollgate and directed that he should be rushed to the hospital after the attack.
He noted that since the protesters had blocked the road, the management team had to take one way and rushed him to Falomo for immediate medical attention.
“We are here to visit dedicated personnel of LCC who was stabbed by EndSARS’ protesters. On that day because of the threat by the protesters, we sourced for external security in addition to our dedicated team.
“We were there when the protesters came in Coaster buses, suddenly they disembarked and the Man O’ War team including Shina Edun was asked to stay close to protect the plaza and before we knew what was going on, they stabbed him in the abdomen and we rushed him to the hospital,” he said.
The CSO, however, appealed to the Lagos State Government to assist the company in taking care of the medical bill of Edun, saying “he was a victim in the course of discharging his duties. We want the Government to assist us.”
Also speaking, the Head, Commercial and Corporate Media of LCC, Mrs. Veronica Jacob, who was part of the visitation team, said the visit by her organisation was to show Edun that he would not be abandoned.
“You have seen our dedicated staff who was stabbed. We are very concerned about the safety and security of our staff which is why we are here. We thank God he is alive and he is recovering. We pray we don’t encounter something of this nature again. He has gotten medical attention but we will continue to follow up again,” she said.
An elder brother to Edun, Chief Kehinde Yusuf stated that the victim was in serious pain when he was brought back home.
He added that his brother suffered serious pain as a result of the injury, saying the bleeding was too much initially and he was unconscious.
He also appealed to the Lagos State government to come to the aid of the family.
