Janet Ogundepo
A father, whose son was killed by a stray bullet from officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Asaba, Delta State, speaks with Janet Ogundepo 264-day days after the incident, lamenting how alleged delays and excuses from the agency in processing the required documents for the other son shot in the eye might soon leave him permanently blind.
20-month-old, Eromosele Omhonria has lived the past eight months and 14 days in excruciating pain emanating from his left eye.
However, as it appears, the journey to getting a lasting cure for the agony he undergoes daily appears elusive, going by the narrative of his distraught father, Mr Fidelis Omhonria.
The father of two had on July 13, 2023, lost his two-year-old son, Ivan, to the cold hands of death. He was felled by a hot lead from the gun of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency official going after fleeing suspects during a raid on drug kingpins’ hideouts, in the Okpanam area of the state.
Based on reports from eyewitnesses, the stray bullet that ripped through Ivan’s stomach ricocheted into Eromosele’s left eye.
Though both brothers were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Delta State, for treatment, Ivan did not survive the accident.
Omhonria told PUNCH Healthwise that glass shreds from the bullet caused grievous injury to his son’s eyes, making him to constantly wear an eye guard to prevent the onset of infection.
Amid losing his only brother, the toddler continues to bear the pains and traumatic marks of that day.
After the incident, Omhonria said the NDLEA Chairman, Brig Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), visited his home on November 2, 2023, and promised to take responsibility for the medical bills and to fly the injured boy to the United States of America for treatment.
Assured of that promise, the father says he buried his first son, Ivan, on December 13, 2023, and applied for a visa to the US.
Since then, the delays and constant back and forth continue to bring Omhonria’s soul down.
Father’s Agony
Listening to the constant whimpers and cries of his toddler is what Omhonria deals with daily and in the past eight months
His son’s cries, borne from the pain he feels in his left eye and the constant discomfort of wearing an eye patch were not things he could soothe.
This, Eromosele’s father says, has prevented the boy from joining his peers in school and restricted him from outdoor activities, which has undoubtedly been another cause of pain for him.
He told PUNCH Healthwise, “Currently, he is under the care of an ophthalmologist and paediatrician. He has been placed on eye drops and pain medications, which he mostly uses whenever his body temperature rises above normal or cries at night. But all these medications are meant to help pending when he would get an advanced surgical procedure. This is a case that requires urgent medical care and today is making it eight months and 14 days.”
Omhonria is disturbed that as treatment for his son continues to be delayed, chances of recovery dwindles.
Since the incident on July 13, Omhonria says his son has been diagnosed with retinal detachment.
According to the National Eye Institute, retinal detachment is an eye problem that happens when the retina, which is the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye, pulls away from its normal position.
Eye experts, who spoke to PUNCH Healthwise, stated that retinal detachment needs immediate attention.
Constant cries for dead brother
Omhonria tells PUNCH Healthwise that the pain cords strike higher when his five-year-old daughter asks when her brother, Ivan, would return home from the hospital.
Recounting the event that unfolded on that dark day, the sad father said, “When the older boy was shot, my five-year-old daughter was with both of her brothers in the shop. I thank God that the bullet escaped my daughter.
“Till this morning, she still asks ‘When is my brother coming back? We took all of them to FMC, but we couldn’t come back with Ivan. She keeps asking, ‘Why did the police shoot my daughter?
With a voice heavy with tears, Omhonria said every time his daughter asks such a question, he is further left speechless and torn inside.
The mother of the boy, he said, still has nightmares, yet is saddled with the care of the remaining children.
Denied visa, delayed trip
Frustrated at the delays and several excuses from NDLEA officials processing the required documents for his son’s medical trip, Omhonria lamented that has continued to pay out of his pocket to expedite the process.
“We have applied for a visa for his medical trip to the US. Immediately they denied us the visa, I reached out to the NDLEA chairman and he asked that I reapply, which I have done for more than two months now. After the application, I was given April 2, 2025.
“The protocol officer attached to me said that whatever date I was given with the new application I should take it that they are going to expedite the date. But ever since it happened, NDLEA has been unable to give us a date. They are claiming that they sent a letter to the embassy, which we were not aware of, or not given a copy,” he said.
Eromosele’s father expressed surprise at the NDLEA official’s constant request for documents he had earlier sent, noting that it is at variance with his claim of trying to expedite action on the matter.
“We have lost one but let all hands be on deck to save the younger one’s life. You can’t be doing this to an innocent boy. When it happened, he was a year and a few weeks old. Would they have allowed such a child to stay up to eight months and 14 days with an injury in need of emergency treatment? I’m calling on those who can help us,” the father pleaded.
Delaying surgery may cause blindness, ophthalmologist warns
The toddler, if not given immediate surgery, is at risk of irreversible blindness, the eye experts said.
They further noted that the child could lose the eye structure, causing a cosmetic problem later in the future.
“The child can’t wait till 2025. The surgery needs to be done today, if possible,” a professor of Ophthalmology and Chairman of the National Eye Health Committee of Nigeria, Afekhide Omoti insisted.
He noted that the child stands the risk of blindness and loss of the eyeball from shrinkage known as Phthisis bulbi.
“The retinal detachment needs urgent treatment to prevent detachment of the macula, which is the central part of the retina responsible for acute or sharp vision.
“The associated recurrent pain implies that there is inflammation in the eye due to uveitis, which may become chronic and result in shrinkage of the eyeball. This might result in irreversible blindness and loss of the normal structure of the eyeball and a major cosmetic defect,” the don warned.
He further asserted that the penetrating wound caused by the bullet or pellets may be a source of infection resulting in endophthalmitis (the eye becomes a bag of pus) or panophthalmitis (the eyeball and surrounding structures getting involved in the infection).
The National Chair of the Eye Institute further warned, “At this stage, if not treated early, the only available option will be to remove the eye surgically (evisceration) or, if treated conservatively, will result in the eyeball shrinking (phthisis bulbi). There is a need to avert irreversible loss of vision and loss of structure of the eyeball, which will be a cosmetic defect in the child.”
On his part, an Optometrist, Dr Jideofor Akunne, said due to the impact of the bullet on the eyes, there is the possibility of blood being in the eye, which increases the risk of blindness.
He added that the pain the child was experiencing called for immediate attention, saying that the eight-month delay could already impact the recovery of the eyes.
“The age of the child makes it more complicated to handle but it can still be handled by experts in Lagos.
“However, if there is not much blood in the eyes and if the detachment is not very significant, something can still be done in specialist hospitals in Lagos. But if it is a full detachment and there is blood, then they won’t be able to handle it here,” Akunne added.
NDLEA’s response
In his response, the Director of Media & Advocacy at NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, sympathised with the family, adding that the agency remained committed to supporting the family.
He, however, said the issue of travelling to the US was the family’s preference and not that of the agency.
“On the issue of travelling to the U.S., that is their option as there are many other options for treatment which the agency had also proposed. But we can’t impose our wish or will on the family. We can only support them in actualising their preference. We have stood and supported their decision from day one.
“We have made commitments to be responsible for their expenses and treatments and the Chairman, Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), on the two occasions that the family’s application had been rejected, had made personal calls to officials of the embassy to plead with them to see how they could assist in facilitating the issuance of a visa to the family.
Everything within our powers and within the rules that we can do, we have done and are still doing in this regard,” Babafemi said.
He also emphasised that the agency lacks the power to issue visas and cannot compel the American Embassy as to when to issue visas.
The NDLEA Director of Media noted that the agency had provided the necessary assurances and documents that the travel expenses and medical bills would be taken care of.
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