A National Youth Service Corps member in Bayelsa State, Miss Loretta Okoro, has cried out for help over pains caused by bites she sustained from her employer’s dogs.
28-year-old Loretta was bitten by security dogs in her employer’s house on December 5, 2015, where she was posted for her primary assignment.
Three dogs on the premises of the employer, Prof. Klem Imananah, reportedly pounced on the corps member at about 7pm on that day.
Speaking with The Punch on Tuesday, Loretta lamented that her employer and the state chapter of the NYSC had abandoned her to her fate.
She alleged that since the incident occurred, she had not gone through proper medical treatment and that her health had deteriorated.
Loretta, a member of Stream A, with NYSC number NUA/2015/162926, said though the wounds were on the surface, she later started suffering from hallucination, numbness, mental torture and psychological imbalance.
The lady, who said she was posted to the residence of Imananah at Opolo in the Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state, accused her employer of neglect.
She said, “On December 5, 2015, I was attacked by three dogs owned by Prof. Imananah who I was attached to. The first hospital I was taken to had no doctor to attend to me.
“I called a friend of mine who came to take me to the Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa. The injuries were cleaned every day and I was given injections. I spent three weeks at the hospital and later went home.
“The following day after being discharged, I started feeling some strange ailment. I have been trying to be stable since then. I can no longer sleep. I see strange and horrible things in my dreams. I have been reaching out to the NYSC to know if they can be of help, but nothing has happened till now. They claimed I am only pretending.
“Even the owner of the dogs has been threatening me with court action, saying that I am embarrassing him. I have not been able to do anything. Things have gone beyond my imagination. I have yet to get back to normal.”
Loretta, an indigene of Imo State, appealed to the federal and state governments to wade into the matter.
She said the NYSC in the state had not given her matter the attention it deserved, adding that since the incident occurred, no one from the NYSC had called to know her condition.
Loretta’s colleague, who identified himself only as Kingsley, said the victim’s health had worsened, adding that she needed urgent medical attention.
Kingsley said, “It was unpleasant on Monday evening. She was hallucinating and screaming throughout the night. I knew her from the camp. But now, everything about her health has changed. NYSC is supposed to protect corps members. But with what I have seen in the case of Loretta Okoro, we are just on our own. If something urgent is not done, Loretta may lose her life.”
