Mother sues Promasidor, others for $250,000 over son’s death in factory incident

A grieving mother, Mrs. Susan Ogbu, has filed a $250,000 (approximately N300 million) lawsuit against Promasidor Nigeria Ltd., its parent company Promasidor Holdings, and five other parties, alleging gross negligence that led to the tragic death of her 26-year-old son, Patrick Ogbu.

The lawsuit, filed at the National Industrial Court in Lagos under suit number NICN/LA/361/2024, claims that unsafe work practices and systemic failures caused her son’s untimely death just hours into a new work placement.

Other defendants named in the suit include workplace safety consultant Mr. Dapo Omolade, the Dapo Omolade Empowerment Initiatives (DOME), Hybrid Group Limited, Hybrid HSE Limited, Bohlar Integrated Services, and the Minister of Labour and Employment.

According to the complaint, Patrick had joined the DOME HSE trainee program on April 1, 2024, following an offer letter issued in March. The program, coordinated by Omolade and Hybrid Group, was marketed as a technical training initiative in occupational health and safety and offered a monthly stipend of N65,000.

Mrs. Ogbu stated that her son was deployed to Promasidor Nigeria’s factory on August 9, 2024, through a staffing arrangement with Bohlar Integrated Services. Tragically, a few hours after he resumed duties, Patrick reportedly fell from a rooftop into a warehouse and died on the spot.

“My son left home with hope that morning,” the mother recounted in court filings. “But within hours, I received the worst news a parent can hear. He fell from the rooftop due to unsafe working conditions and a complete disregard for safety protocols.”

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed in their duty of care and placed trainees in hazardous environments without adequate protection or supervision. Mrs. Ogbu is seeking N300 million in compensation, N150 million in general damages, N5 million in legal costs, and a 21% annual interest on the judgment sum until it is paid in full.

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She is also asking the court to mandate a full health and safety audit of Promasidor’s factory operations across Lagos and Ogun states, as well as an official investigation into the labour practices of the DOME initiative.

In their defence, the first to fourth defendants, represented by counsel Azeez Alaka, denied liability. They argued that Dapo Omolade operates independently of Hybrid Group and that the DOME program is a legitimate training scheme designed to improve youth employability in health and safety sectors.

The defence further claimed that Patrick had violated internal safety protocols by accessing the rooftop without a Permit to Work and allowing others to do the same. They maintained that he was responsible for enforcing the “No Permit, No Work” policy, and his failure to uphold it led to the accident.

“The DOME program was not exploitative,” Alaka said. “It was a sponsored initiative that provided stipends and real-world experience to young Nigerians. The incident, while tragic, occurred due to the deceased’s own disregard for safety rules.”

Mrs. Ogbu, however, insists that the program was a “deceptive pipeline for cheap labour” and that the young participants were placed in harm’s way under the guise of training.

No date has yet been set for judgment, but the court’s decision is expected to set a precedent for how trainee safety and corporate responsibility are treated going forward.

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