A Nigerian woman – Bilikesu Olagunju – has been sentenced to prison for abusing 88-year-old man, John Attard, in the United Kingdom.
Olagunju, a care worker, was sentenced to prison after CCTV footage showed her abusing Attard, her client, at his home in Bexley, Kent in UK.
The videos, obtained by the court, came from a camera set up in the house by Attard’s son, who discovered his father unresponsive in bed with blood dripping down his face on Christmas morning in 2022.
When Olagunju arrived at her job on Chirstmas Eve, the clips showed how she shouted at the great-grandfather to stand while she struggled to dress him
The care worker also threatened to flog the 88-year-old man and call the police on him.
Olagunju also pulled the man’s table away, making it difficult for the 88-year-old pensioner to reach any of the food – and spilling hot coffee on him in the process.
Attard, who was said to be diabetic and suffering from dementia, died days later.
However, an autopsy could not link Olagunju’s actions to Attard’s death.
According to Daily Mail, the man’s son, Chris, told the court that although a post-mortem could not prove the care worker caused his father’s death, he felt Olagunju’s actions had directly contributed to his passing.
The presiding judge, Charlotte Welsh, said it was difficult to understand why a care worker would be allocated an elderly man with dementia as their first client.
“Being a carer is a very, very difficult job and frankly people don’t appreciate it until they need it. I am convinced that you had not received the sufficient training,” Welsh said in her ruling.
The judge said Olagunju’s actions were evident of her failure to treat Attard as a person deserving of as much dignity and respect as others but noted that the care worker showed genuine remorse.
The Nigerian was therefore handed a six-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, while also being ordered to carry out 50 hours’ unpaid work at Woolwich Crown Court in South-East London.