Richard Gbadebo’s Death : Femi Aborisade Writes Labour Minister, Demands for Commission of Inquiry

Richard Gbadebo’s Death : Femi Aborisade Writes Labour Minister, Demands for Commission of Inquiry .

The Labour Activist, Human Rights Defender and Lawyer, Barr. Femi Aborisade has written to the Minister of Labour and Employment , Federal Republic of Nigeria to demand for Commission of Inquiry into the death of Late Richard Gbadebo .

The letter reads :

” 24th August 2020
The Honourable Minister of Labour & Employment
Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity
Federal Secretariat Complex
Shehu Shagari Way
Central Area
Abuja.

Through

The State Controller
Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment
Ikolaba
Ibadan
Oyo State.

Dear Sir,

AN OPEN CALL FOR A COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE DEATH OF RICHARD GBADEBO IN THE COURSE OF WORKING IN THE PREMISES OF HENKEL NIGERIA LIMITED AND EXPAND GLOBAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED

1. We have been briefed and our services retained by the family of Late Richard Gbadebo, as well as the Alliance On Surviving COVID-19 And Beyond (ASCAB), Oyo State Chapter and International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW) Network, Nigeria Chapter, with presence in 56 countries of the world, all of whom are hereinafter referred to as Our Clients, on whose behalf and instructions we write this petition calling for a commission of inquiry into the horrible death of Richard Gbadebo in the course of working within the premises of HENKEL NIGERIA LIMITED AND EXPAND GLOBAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED.
2. This call for a commission of inquiry is predicated upon Article 11(d) of the International Labour Organisation’s Convention No. 155 of 1981 on Occupational Health and Safety and Sections 33 to 36 of the Trade Disputes Act.
3. Article 11(d) of the International Labour Organisation’s Convention No. 155 of 1981 on Occupational Health and Safety provides that the competent authority or authorities shall ensure the holding of inquiries, “where cases of occupational accidents, occupational diseases or any other injuries to health which arise in the course of or in connection with work appear to reflect situations which are serious”
4. By virtue of Section 254C(1)(h) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, all international standards relating to labour, employment, matters arising from workplace, including health and safety, and so on, are deemed to be incorporated into the Constitution and they enjoy constitutional flavour. As ILO’s Convention No. 155 of 1981 on Occupational Health and Safety is an international standard, it is deemed enforceable.
5. In particular, by the provisions of Convention No. 155 of 1981 on Occupational Health and Safety, the aim of a public inquiry is with a view to “identifying their causes and establishing preventive measures”.
6. By the provisions of Sections 33 to 36 of the Trade Disputes Act (TDA), the Minister of Labour is empowered to appoint Board of Inquiry to investigate “industrial conditions” or “any other matter” of interest.
7. The Commission of Inquiry should include representatives of organized labour, including the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFLAMPE), the Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Senior Staff Association (CANMPSSA), occupational health and safety professional bodies, student union of the University of Ibadan, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and the Nigeria Bar Association, among others.
8. The findings made through the public inquiry may be useful in determining the real challenge posed by the state of working environment in HENKEL NIGERIA LIMITED AND EXPAND GLOBAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED in order to safeguard the welfare, safety and security of workers.
9. We therefore call on the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment to appoint a Board of Inquiry to conduct public inquiry into the gruesome death of Richard Gbadebo. HENKEL NIGERIA LIMITED AND EXPAND GLOBAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED should be made to produce the CCTV footage and/or grant Our Clients’ experts access to the CCTV installed in the companies’ premises for expert examination.
10. As far as Our Clients are concerned, they are determined to work in partnership with governmental authorities and use the death of Richard Gbadebo to ensure that never again shall any life be lost due to unsafe work environment, not only in Oyo State but indeed in the whole of Nigeria.

ABOUT THE TWO COMPANIES

11. EXPAND GLOBAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED is a laundry and home care company, producing WAW and nittol detergents, located at Plot 9, Oluyole Industrial Estate, Ibadan, Oyo State.
12. In 2016, HENKEL NIGERIA LIMITED acquired 57.5% shareholding in EXPAND GLOBAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED (See https://www.henkel.com/resource/blob/790960/eea04a69139c94badae59d760e59668f/data/acquisitions-2016.pdf accessed online on 3/8/2020).
13. Indeed, in a press release dated 30/7/2020, EXPAND GLOBAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED admitted the fact of the death of Richard Gbadebo “at our Ibadan plant”, referring to EXPAND GLOBAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED’s plant.

THE DEATH OF RICHARD GBADEBO

14. So far, apart from the Post Mortem report which definitively links the death to the machine he was operating, very little is known about the circumstances leading to the death of Richard Gbadebo.
15. However, according to the family, Late Richard Gbadebo, was on a night shift duty on 27th July, scheduled for the period between 6pm and 7am. Sometime in the morning of 28th July, the parents received a call from a colleague of Richard stating that Richard had slumped at work. The father, Mr. Olusola Gbadebo arrived the premises of the companies about 7.30am.
16. The family of Late Richard Gbadebo briefed us that when the father arrived the companies’ premises about 7.30am, nobody officially received him. In fact, he was not allowed to enter the premises until about 12noon when the gate was opened for an ambulance. The corpse of Late Richard Gbadebo was only removed from the companies’ premises around 12noon and taken to a private hospital, Teju Hospital, Ring Road, Ibadan, between the hours of 1 and 2pm on the 28th day of July 2020. It was only in the course of taking the corpse to Teju Hospital that the father had an opportunity to see the corpse of his son for the 1st time since about 7.30am he had arrived the companies’ premises. Indeed, the agents of the two companies initially resisted the father entering the ambulance.
17. Up till date, according to the brief of the family, no official explanation as to the circumstances leading to the death of Richard Gbadebo has been made to the family.
18. We have the brief of Our Clients to invite the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment to invoke Sections 33 to 36 of the Trade Disputes Act to appoint a Board of Inquiry to factually establish the circumstances surrounding the death of Richard Gbadebo. According to the family, Richard was the only son in the family and a 300-level student in the Department of European Studies. The urge to assist the family finances pushed him to accept to work to earn some income during the COVID-19 lockdowns involving stay at home of students.
19. The Alliance On Surviving COVID-19 And Beyond (ASCAB), Oyo State Chapter and the International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW) represent the interest of the public and the international community of pro-labour lawyers in ensuring justice for the deceased Richard Gbadebo. As the Late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa aptly puts it,

“Justice is not a one-way traffic. It is really a three-way traffic: justice for the appellant, accused of heinous crime of murder; justice for the victim, the murdered man, i. e. the deceased whose blood is crying to the high heavens for vengeance; and finally to the society at large; the society whose norms had been desecrated and broken by the criminal act complained of …” (Josiah v. State (1985) 1 NWLR (Pt. 11) 125 at 141.

20. Unless the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment 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 (PPE) and fencing of every dangerous part of any machinery.
21. It is the concern of our clients that justice for Richard Gbadebo lies in establishing the circumstances leading to his death, prosecuting those who are deemed to have killed him by failure of duty of care, in order to serve as deterrence for future reoccurrence, not only in Oyo State but indeed in the country as a whole.
22. The Nigerian Government, through the Abike Dabiri-Erewa-led Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) and the Director General Olusegun Runsewe-led National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), organized a Memorial Service and commendably joined the entire world in calling for justice for George Floyd in the US on the ground of common humanity, sacredness and sanctity of human life (See https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/397270-nigerian-govt-condemns-floyds-killing-racial-injustice.html accessed online on 23/8/2020). We call on the Ministry of Labour and Employment as a part of the Nigerian Government that called for justice for George Floyd in the US to conduct public inquiry, with a view to establishing the circumstances of death, prosecuting the deemed killers, if found that they failed to exercise the required duty of care, and preventing future reoccurrence, all in the bid to attaining justice for Richard Gbadebo.
23. The blood of Richard Gbadebo is crying for justice. Our clients demand justice for Richard Gbadebo.
24. Please accept the assurance of our highest regards.

Thank You Sir.

Yours faithfully,

For: ABOPE CHAMBERS
Femi Aborisade, Esq.
Managing Partner.

Cc:

The President
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)
Labour House
Abuja.

The President
Trade Union Congress
TUC National Headquarters
338, Ikorodu Road (Express House)
By Idi-Iroko Bus Stop
Maryland
Lagos.
Lagos State

The Chairman
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)
Oyo State Chapter
Labour House
Ibadan.
Oyo State

The Chairman
Trade Union Congress (TUC)
Oyo State Chapter
Ibadan.
Oyo State

National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFLAMPE)
Oyo State Chapter
Ibadan
Oyo State

Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Senior Staff Association (CANMPSSA)
Oyo State Chapter
Ibadan, Oyo State “.