Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond, a group led by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has partnered with the Oyo State Chapter of the International Lawyers Assisting Workers, to demand justice for Richard Gbadebo, a 300 level student of the University of Ibadan who died at a soap making factory on July 28.
Gbadebo, 21, was said to be on a night shift at a factory owned by Henkel Nigeria Limited, manufacturers of WAW detergent and bar soap. Family members of the deceased said Richard decided to work at the factory due to the shutdown of universities as a result of COVID-19.
According to reports, he slipped and fell into a machine, which crushed him while trying to detach nylons which got stuck to his hands. Witnesses said that no one noticed that he had fallen into a machine until blood began dripping from the machine.
In a petition filed by the groups, led by Femi Aborisade, the firm was accused of callousness and negligence in providing adequate security measures at the plant, the Punch reported.
“Unless the Oyo State government ensures justice for Richard Gbadebo, employers of labour may not take seriously the life, safety and health of workers by providing the necessary Personal Protective Equipment and fencing of every dangerous part of any machinery,” a part of the petition read.
“It is the concern of our clients that Richard Gbadebo would not have killed by the machinery he was working with if the necessary PPE was provided and the dangerous parts of the machinery were properly fenced to prevent the kind of calamity that befell Richard Gbadebo.
“The blood of Richard Gbadebo is crying for justice. Our clients demand justice for Richard Gbadebo.”
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