A driver, Chimobi Nwoko, has been at loggerheads with his boss, identified simply as Akazue, after he allegedly deceived him into donating one of his kidneys to his younger brother, Osinachi, and failed to fulfill his promise of compensating him for the donation.
Nwoko, while narrating his ordeal on Tuesday, said Akazue promised to give him $20m, a house, and a driving job in the US, but since undergoing the kidney transplant at a popular hospital in Lagos State on December 22, 2018, Akazue has failed to honour his promises.
Prior to undergoing the transplant, the aggrieved man said his boss warned him against informing members of his family.
He also said Akazue brought his younger sister, Deborah, to act as his wife, who signed the consent form at the hospital before the transplant.
After undergoing the transplant and being discharged from the hospital, Nwoko said his boss moved him into a one-room apartment in Mowe, adding that one week after the surgery, Akazue ordered him to return to work despite still recuperating.
Narrating how life has been since the transplant, Nwoko claimed he is now always tired and is no longer as agile as he used to be before the transplant.
He added that since the day he was discharged, the family had never bothered to care for his health.
Nwoko said, “I was employed as a driver for Mr Akazue in November 2018. His brother, Osinach, had a kidney issue, so when my boss travelled, I was driving his brother to the hospital for dialysis every three days. When my boss returned, he called me into his office and told me that his brother’s kidney had failed.
“He said in the next one or two weeks, his brother may die. He asked if I would like to donate one of my kidneys for his brother and said if I donated the kidney, he would give me $20m, a house in America, and will also get me a driving job in America.
“I said I would do it and the next day, we went to the hospital where they ran tests and told me my kidney would match his. The next day, Akazue’s brothers, another of his in-laws, one Mr Joe, and I went back to the hospital, we stayed three days after which the surgery was done.”
Nwoko said one week after he was discharged, he exhausted his drugs, adding that since 2018 to date, he had not received any treatment as Akazue abandoned him.
“All the promises my boss made me, he didn’t fulfil them. Whenever I asked my boss about it, he’d tell me not to worry, that I was still in his mind. On October 13, 2023, I realised what had happened and told my parents about what I was going through,” Nwoko added.
Furthermore, his salary was increased to N70,000 after the transplant, but he never received the full salary because N30,000 was always deducted if he missed any day at work.
He explained that his family lodged a complaint at the Zone 2 Command, where the Assistant-Inspector General, Muhammed Ali, detailed his men, and Akazue was arrested on Sunday, October 22.
Asked about the whereabouts of Osinachi, Nwoko’s counsel, Abdullai Dania, said Akazue told the police to go find him themselves.
The counsel described Nwoko’s case as a case of organ theft, noting that “his kidney was taken from him deceitfully and fraudulently.”
Dania added, “This is stealing somebody’s organ. We don’t know what he used to hypnotise the man; if he is going to settle this matter, he should pay N500m to the victim. If he won’t, we will take legal action while the criminal aspect will go on.”
Calls put through to the receiver of the donated kidney, Osinachi, did not go through as his two numbers were switched off.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Zone 2 Command, Hauwa Idris-Adamu, requested to know the department that arrested the suspect.
She promised to get back to our correspondent but had yet to do so as of the time this report was filed.
Subsequent calls made to her mobile number were unanswered, and she did not reply the text message sent to her number for further updates regarding Nwoko’s case.
Punch