Emmanuel Madubuezi was on his way to school – Port Harcourt Polytechnic – one day when he was hit in the leg by a stray bullet. His leg had to be amputated and that has cost him his happiness. He shares his story with CHUKWUDI AKASIKE
Could you narrate the incident that made you lose one of your legs?
I am Emmanuel Madubuezi from Isikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State.
On September 14, 2017, I boarded a commercial tricycle (popularly called ‘keke’) that morning to my school, Port Harcourt Polytechnic, in Rumuola, Rivers State. Shortly before we got to Big Tree Market in Iwofe, from a distance, I saw some soldiers forcing some young ladies into a van. The tricycle rider continued the journey and people went about their business. Then we started hearing gunshots. Suddenly, I realised that a bullet had pierced my hand and left leg. The bullet went through my leg and also hit an elderly woman sitting next to me. The impact made her fall out of the tricycle. She appeared to be in her 60s.
What did you do after that?
After I screamed and the woman fell off, the tricycle rider asked what happened and I told him we had been hit by a bullet and immediately, he pulled over. He ran to meet the soldiers and told them that they had shot his passengers, but the soldiers didn’t listen to him. They simply drove him away. Then I begged the tricycle driver to take me to the hospital. He was taking me to the one opposite the market but before he could reverse the tricycle and face the hospital, I was gradually becoming unconscious, perhaps due to the loss of so much blood. That was the last thing I remembered.
When you regained consciousness, what were you told?
When I woke up, the tricycle rider told me he paid for the blood transfusion I had and other fees. I was told that I was given blood that sustained me until my mother arrived. When I came out of the theatre, I saw policemen from Rumuoluni Police Division. They came because the hospital management called them for investigation, knowing that it was a gunshot. The police arrested the tricycle driver and they went to the scene of the incident to arrest almost everybody to conduct an investigation. Around 10 pm, the doctor said we should deposit N800,000 and that he had called an orthopaedic doctor from Enugu that would come and treat me. My mum was crying because she did not have that amount of money. She even told the doctor that he should have told her about the money earlier so she could have started looking for the money. She would have to borrow from many places. But the doctor said we were not serious, so he transferred us to the Military Hospital, Port Harcourt.
What was your experience at the Military Hospital?
When we got to the Military Hospital, there was no bed space. Workers of Braitewaite Memorial Hospital and the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital were on strike at the time. So, we just had to go to BMH to try our luck. On getting there, someone directed us to one private hospital at Borokiri, Port Harcourt. That was where I was admitted at about 1 am the following day. I was in that private hospital for four days. We were there when we heard that UPTH workers had called off their strike action. We went there and they tried their best to treat the leg and make it work again, but it was no longer possible. While we were still there, the hospital workers went on strike again and I was moved to another hospital at D-Line. That was where we were for about two weeks. That was when the doctor came and amputated my leg.
Did they tell you and your family members that amputation was the only option for you to live?
Yes, they told us. My mum was given a form to fill and she filled it. The hospital said that they were going to amputate my leg and that if they failed to do that, it would affect my heart. Their decision, according to them, was as a result of a disease on the leg.
What was your response when you were told that your leg would be amputated?
I felt helpless; I kept crying because we didn’t have anybody to help us. Later, the leg was amputated. I was in the hospital when my lawyer wrote a petition to the Army. But before then, we learnt some soldiers went to the police station handling the matter and was threatening the Divisional Police Officer to leave the case. The DPO then transferred the matter to the State Criminal Investigation Department. The State CID then rearrested those that were around when the incident happened. Those arrested made their statement and said that it was the soldiers that were responsible for it. Along the line, my lawyer sent that letter to the Chief of Army Staff. He (Chief of Army Staff) sent his personnel to the hospital and when they came, they asked me questions. I could not speak well then and it was my mum that was doing the talking. My mum took them to where the incident happened and later they arrested the soldiers responsible for the shooting.
Has the incident affected your education in any way?
It has affected my life, not just my education. It has affected my entire being and it is like I am no longer myself and I cannot do the things I could normally do. I don’t go out again to associate with people because I have not really accepted my current condition. Sometimes, I fall into depression and think of committing suicide, but the Almighty God has kept me going; my mum’s prayers have also been very helpful.
Were you able to continue with your education?
I am not going to school again; I dropped out of school after the incident because there was no money. My set has since graduated. I was in the final year of my ND 1 (National Diploma 1) when the incident happened.
Having gone through all these, what can be done to assuage your feelings?
I want justice; it is justice that I want.
Could you expatiate on that?
My lawyer petitioned the Army and inside that petition, there are things contained in it like the demand for a prosthetic limb and funds to go back to school. The Army should compensate me; they should do the needful so that I can start my life afresh.
At what time did you write the petition?
We wrote the first one not long after the incident happened in 2017 and the last one was a reminder written by my lawyer to them (Nigerian Army) this year. But they have not responded to the reminder letter. I am really devastated because I don’t do anything; I don’t go out and I don’t even know where to start from in life.
Beyond the psychological trauma, has the pain disappeared?
I still feel pain in my leg; I am not given enough drugs because we don’t have money. We have spent all we had on the leg and we even borrowed to ensure I would be alive. We are also indebted to the hospital because there are some bills we have not paid, and sometimes the other leg swells up.
Did you at any point consider any legal action over your travails?
Yes, we went to court and the Army later invited us and promised to compensate me and that they would pay the hospital bill. But they said we needed to, first of all, withdraw the matter from the court so that the soldiers would not lose their jobs. Our decision was based on the fact that we thought that they would keep to their words. But it has been two years now; nothing has been done. We called them but they have not been able to fulfil their promise. Sometimes, my mum would go there to remind them of their promises, and when leaving they (Army) would put N10,000 in an envelope and give her to pacify her, apparently. But at a point, I told her to stop collecting that money. What is N10,000 compared to what we have passed through?
In specific terms, what do you want?
Apart from providing an artificial leg for me, I want N150m as compensation, because it’s as if my life has been stagnant since that incident. I can’t even do anything for myself any longer