The Management of Tin Can Island Containers Terminal (TICT) has said it will compensate and fund the burial rite of a 77 year old dockworker who died on board a ship at the terminal last week.
Shipping Position Daily however gathered from inside sources last week that the deceased dockworker, Mr Ganiyu Aderibigbe was being accused of being on an illegal duty when he died.
According a reliable source within the terminal who said he was not authorised to speak, the dockworker was allegedly too old and drunk on that faithful day to be at that point.
She said, "the deceased was not supposed to be at the point where the incident happened. In fact, what is a 77year old man doing in the port?" he asked rhetorically.
"To make matter worse, he was drunk, and not supposed to be at the point," the source stated.
The TICT staff also said the dockworker was not in its employ as he was employed by a stevedoring company, TSE Stevedoring Nigeria Limited. He however said this won't stop the company from helping in the burial rite.
Aderibigbe died on Tuesday while working on board a vessel named MV COSCO NAGOYA on the terminal.
Recall that Aderibigbe died, while another dockworker, Christopher Madagbu is currently hospitalised after suffering injuries in the same accident working onboard a vessel named MV COSCO NAGOYA at theTICT.
The sources told our correspondent that the terminal operator would support the family of the deceased in providing a befitting burial ceremony to the deceased who died on duty.
President of the Dockworkers branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN); Adewale Adeyanju confirmed that the two men fell inside a hole onboard the MV COSCO NAGOYA while working on the vessel.
According to him, “The two men fell inside what we call a manhole onboard the MV COSCO NAGOYA last Teusday at about 10:30 p.m. They were later rushed to a hospital were Aderibigbe later died on Tuesday and was buried same day according to Muslim rites. Doctors are still battling to save the life of Christopher Madagbu as I speak to you.”
On what caused the accident, Adeyanju explained that, “there was no light onboard the vessel. There is what we call cargo light. It is always put on onboard vessels when work is ongoing. However, when the two men were going onboard MV COSCO NAGOYA to commence their operations, the cargo light was not on; thus both men fell inside the manhole onboard the vessel.
“It was Madagbu that first fell inside the manhole. When he was shouting for help, Aderibigbe heard his voice and was apparently coming to help but also fell inside the same manhole.”
He however refused to comment on the allegations against the late dockworker. According to him, “since the allegations didn’t come officially from TICT, I can comment, all I know is that the deceased was officially assigned to work on board that vessel”.
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