A
34-year-old woman, Mrs. Alexandra Ossai, has accused her Lebanese boss,
Kaveh Noine, of causing her to...
lose her seven-month-pregnancy after he
kicked her in the stomach.
Alexandra Ossai, who until December 13, 2013, was a
supervisor with a Lebanese owned firm, Toppan Printing Company, alleged
that Noine assaulted her many times during her eight months stay at the
company.
Currently at a private hospital in the Fagba area of Lagos State,
Ossai told PUNCH Metro that she had undergone emergency surgery four
days after the kick to save her life as her placenta was said to have
been damaged.
Alexandra Ossai said, “I started working at
Toppan in April. I earn N17,000 salary and work from Monday to Saturday.
Anytime Noine was annoyed, he would beat the person he was angry with.
Sometimes, he would throw whatever he can lay his hands on at the
person. Prior to that incident, Noine had slapped me many times.
“Noine had said he would hold me responsible for the shortcomings
of the people I supervised. As a result, I often assisted my
subordinates in their duties to make sure that Noine had nothing to
complain about.”
Alexandra Ossai said on December 12 2013, Noine had flown into a rage when he noticed something on the floor in her section.
“It was a container for a drug. That is what we do; we produce
packets for drugs and perfumes. So when Noine saw one of such packets on
the floor, he was so angry that he gave me a blow to the chest,” she recalled.
She said Noine subsequently went into his office and typed a termination letter for Alexandra Ossai,
which she refused to sign. Her refusal allegedly enraged him further
and after verbally abusing her, he was said to have told her that it was
her last warning.
The following day, Alexandra Ossai ran into Noine while coming from his secretary’s office. Noine allegedly dragged Alexandra Ossai back to the office and called her a wicked woman.
Ossai said, “He said I looked like a mad person. After abusing
me, he hit me on my neck twice. Then, without warning, he kicked my
stomach with his knee. Some co-workers were there but they did not
intervene. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach.”
The mother of one, whose younger brother and sister also worked in
the same company, said she prevailed on her siblings not to attack Noine
when they heard the news.
“I never for once told my husband what I was going through at
work. I didn’t want him to come and fight Noine. I pleaded with my
siblings not to fight,” Alexandra Ossai said.
Although the pains eventually subsided after two days, it was learnt
that in the early hours of Monday, Decemebr 16, 2013, Ossai began to
bleed. She was rushed to a private clinic at Fagba. She was told that
her placenta had been damaged as a result of the kick and that she had
to undergo emergency surgery to save her life.
She said, “I didn’t know that my baby had died until two days after the surgery. I was told my baby lost his face too due to the kick.”
She said a report was made at the Area F police command the following day by her aunt, Mrs. Olabisi Jaiyeoba.
Jaiyeoba said, “When Alexandra Ossai’s husband
and I were refused entry into the company, we went to report to the
police. They accompanied us there and even had to force their way in.
The administrative manager lied that Noine had travelled out of the
country. But as of that Tuesday, he was still in the country. It was
later that we learned that he travelled last Friday.”
Efforts to get a response from the Deputy Manager of Toppan printing
Company, Mr. Abass Al-Souki, proved abortive as his phone number
indicated that it was unreachable.
However, the admin manager, who declined to identify herself, told
PUNCH Metro that the factory was closed for the Christmas holidays.
She said, “We closed for the holidays last Friday and would reopen on
January 8 2013. I would not like to speak on that matter because it is
already with the police. Also our company lawyer is on it. You can only
get across to our management in January 2014.”
Legal counsel for Toppan, Mrs. Nnebe, said that she could not comment on the matter.
She said, “It would be best if you wait for the police to
conclude their investigation. Ossai has only made an allegation. Let the
police finish their investigation and then we would give our response.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ngozi Braide, said, “The
incident which occurred on Thursday was not reported to the police
until Tuesday. It took about five days before it was reported. So when
the police arrived at the suspect’s workplace, they were informed that
he had travelled. It took a long time for the complainant to report the
matter. But we are investigating.”
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