By Dayo Johnson 

THE story of  Sunday Ige Martins, an ex-police corporal, is indeed a pathetic one.

He joined the Nigeria Police Force in September 1991, was mobilised to PMF 17 Squadron, Akure, Ondo State in 1993, and had an accident while on official duty in Lagos in 2001.

He had since been bedridden for 21 years after he was knocked down by a commercial bus and was run over by a truck which led to a spinal cord injury and the amputation of his right leg at OAUTHC, Ile-Ife, Osun State, in August 2001.

As if that wasn’t enough, Ige is about to be evicted from a one-bedroom semi-detached bungalow allocated to him while in active service at the Federal Housing Estate, Shagari Village, Akure, which was later sold to willing occupants by the Federal Government in 2007.

Ige struggled to pay 10 per cent of the N1, 250 million from his N125,000 gratuity and was unable to pay the balance of 90 per cent because of his misfortune.

Since the unfortunate incident, Ige has no source of income and is only being taken care of by some family members, who engage in menial jobs in Akure.

He’s about to be evicted in a couple of days from the apartment he occupied since 1993 following his inability to pay the balance.

In an interview with Vanguard, Ige appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to come to his aid as he is about to be evicted from the Federal Housing Estate, Shagari Village, Akure. 

Narrating his ordeal, he said: “I was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force on September 1, 1991, having passed out from the training school, in Iperu in 1992. After the training, I was posted to Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

“In 1993, I was mobilised to the Nigeria Mobile Force, Akure. On January 16, 2001, I was posted for special duty in Lagos and I was attached to Itire Police Station where I was knocked down by a vehicle while on duty.

“When the accident occurred, I was rushed to General Hospital, Ikeja and I was later moved to a private hospital. When my situation could not be handled at both the general and private hospitals, I was moved to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, OAUTH in Ile-Ife.

“At Ife, my leg was amputated. After the leg was amputated, it was later discovered that I had a spinal cord injury which has made movement difficult for me.

“I was discharged from OAUTH in November 2001. Then all the medical expenses were over N1million. The police did not assist me to pay a single kobo out of the entire medical bills. I paid with the little I had as well as with the assistance of my family. My parents died because of the situation.

“In 2006, December 31st, I was retrenched as a Corporal from the Nigeria Police and my salary was immediately stopped. In 2009, the police authority paid me N225,000 as my gratuity with my pension pegged at N5000 monthly, later it was increased to N8000 but with the minimum wage, I now receive N16,000 as a monthly pension.

“In 1993, the house was allocated to me but in 2007, the Federal Housing Authority said that it wanted to dispose of the house at the rate of N1.250 million and we were told to pay 10 per cent first. I picked up interest to buy the house since I have been living there and I paid the 10 per cent.

“Since then, I have not been able to raise the balance because of my condition. Just last week, the ministry brought an eviction letter that I should pack out of the house.

“If I’m evicted from this house, I have nowhere to go because of my condition. I have no wife because when the accident happened, I was yet to get married.

“I am begging the government and well-meaning individuals to come to my aid, there is nowhere for me to go and there is no how I can raise the money.”