Dangote Refinery worker becomes amputee after being shot by private security, laments abandonment by employer

A female staff of the Dangote Refinery, Ibeju Lekki in Lagos State, Rashidat Ahmed, whose right hand was amputated after a security official of the company shot her, has lamented that the company abandoned her in her worst moment.

Rashidat, who said she was employed as a cook by Dangote Refinery, said she was shot in her right hand by one of the local security the company recruited to scale up the security of the company.

Rashidat’s husband, Ishmaila Sa’adu Zango, who is also a casual staff of the Dangote Refinery narrated his wife’s ordeal to SaharaReporters, recalling how she was shot by the security personnel, Nanin Wada, a hunter recruited by the company and how Dangote Refinery gave them N730,000 and abandoned them while they were still in the hospital since 2023.

He further lamented how Dangote Refinery allegedly blocked every means of communication and anyone who attempted to contact the company over the matter.

Zango said; “I have been working with Dangote as their driver under the security department, casual staff, for almost 3 years now. Along the line, the company started having security challenges and brought enough security, army, police, and the hunters to protect the company.

“In March 2023, my wife was employed in the company to cook for security hunters. Ever since she started working with the company, there was no challenge until August 27, 2023, when Dangote bus came to pick us up to go to work in the morning.

“While we were inside the bus, one of the Dangote security hunters was inside the car with his gun. My wife and I were inside the bus also with some of our colleagues in the company.

“On our way going, when I saw the way this security was holding his gun inside the bus, I personally asked him why he held the gun that way but he looked at me and started laughing.

“I told him that was not how policemen hold guns but he refused to listen to me. On our way, I heard the sound of a gun. My wife and her colleague shouted inside the bus. When I looked at her, she told me that her hand was cut and immediately I saw my wife’s condition, I shouted.

“We went to two hospitals but they rejected us, until we went to the General Hospital Lagos before they started treating my wife. The hunter security that shot my wife, by name Nanin Wada, was arrested by police officers and locked up.

“Police wanted to collect the gun but they refused to give it to the police, saying that it was a family issue. Meanwhile, nothing joined me with Nanin Wada.

“While we were in the hospital, doctors said that the only thing they could do was cut my wife’s hand, so I called the company.

“Here is the listed money the company sent to me to treat my wife. On August 28, 2023, N100,000. On August 28, 2023, N150,000. On August 30, 2023, N30,000. On September 5, 2023, N150,000. On September 9, 2023, N100,000. On September 14, 2023, N100,000. On September 19, 2023, N100,000. In total, the company sent the sum of N730,000.”

Zango said that “After the company sent this mentioned money, they refused to send other money and we were still in the hospital by then. I was the one that kept on struggling, borrowing money before I was able to pay for the hospital bills before we were discharged on October 3, 2023.”

He said that while his wife’s hand got amputated, he had spent an extra N453,780, lamenting that “Since the time we were in the hospital, I kept calling Dangote orderly to send the money we spent in the hospital but he kept on turning me up and down.

“Up till now, my wife has not recovered properly because they asked us to be returning to the hospital every week for dressing, which involves money but the company has abandoned my wife and I.

“Because of this incident, my mother-in-law died because she had high blood pressure.”

Our efforts to contact Dangote Refinery for comment and reaction failed as none of its official means of communication was reachable.

Calls made to its contact phone numbers provided on its official website did not connect. Similarly, text messages sent to the numbers did not deliver as they bounced back.

Also, an email sent to the company’s official communication email did not deliver but bounced back saying, “Your message to communications@dangote.com couldn’t be delivered. The group communications only accepts messages from people in its organization or on its allowed senders list, and your email address isn’t on the list.”

We were informed that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) engaged the company through a letter after an attempt to visit the company’s Ibeju Lekki office was rebuffed by their private security.

However, though the letter was received on March 11, the company has not taken any action on the matter nor given any explanation to why it is no longer taking any action on the issue.

We were also informed that on Wednesday, an official of the National Human Rights Commission visited the company’s office at Falomo but the security also refused to allow the government officials access to meet the Head of Legal department of the company on the matter.

Dangote company is so mean.