- Bilikesu Olagunju, a UK-based Nigerian caregiver, received a suspended six-week prison sentence after CCTV captured her abusing 88-year-old dementia patient John Attard.
- The abuse, which occurred on Christmas Eve 2022, involved dragging, threatening, and mishandling the frail man, who died ten days later—though his death was not officially linked to the assault.
- Family members and the judge condemned both Olagunju’s actions and the care agency, Unique Personnel UK, for assigning an inexperienced caregiver to a vulnerable patient without adequate training.
A UK-based Nigerian caregiver, Bilikesu Olagunju, has been sentenced after CCTV footage revealed her violently abusing an 88-year-old dementia patient, John Attard, just a day before he was found unresponsive and later died in hospital.
The shocking footage, recorded on Christmas Eve 2022 at Mr Attard’s home in Bexley, Kent, showed the 42-year-old caregiver dragging the elderly man across the floor, stripping him, ignoring his cries of pain, and threatening him repeatedly during a 45-minute ordeal.
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“Maybe I will beat you up. I will flog you. I will take you to the GP to get injections. I will call the police on you,” she was heard saying in the disturbing video.
Olagunju, who had only been employed for six days by care agency Unique Personnel UK and was assigned Mr Attard as her first patient, pleaded guilty at Woolwich Crown Court to one count of ill-treatment or wilful neglect of a person lacking mental capacity.
She was sentenced to six weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 50 hours of unpaid community service.
The next morning, Mr Attard was discovered unresponsive in bed by his son, Chris Attard, with visible injuries. He was rushed to hospital but never regained consciousness and passed away ten days later. While the abuse was not officially recorded as the cause of death, his family believes the trauma played a major role in his rapid decline.
“If those cameras had not been there, that person could still be out there treating elderly people like this,” said Chris Attard. “The sentence is an insult. What kind of deterrent is that?”
In court, video footage revealed Olagunju yelling at the frail man to stand up, undressing him in full view of the street, and dragging him by his arm and collar. Despite instructions from her employer not to move him, she proceeded anyway and poured marmalade into his coffee, ignoring the fact that he had diabetes. At one point, she spilled hot coffee on him while he pleaded, “You are hurting me.”
Presiding over the case, Judge Charlotte Welsh condemned Olagunju’s actions and questioned how such an inexperienced person was assigned a vulnerable patient.
“Your actions are evidence of your failure to treat Mr Attard as a person deserving of dignity and respect,” she said. “The family has lost a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and their final memories of him are now tainted.”
Olagunju, who wept quietly during the hearing, was described by her lawyer, Mr Tijani, as deeply remorseful.
“She accepts full responsibility and is very sorry,” he told the court. “She had only recently arrived in the UK and has no previous convictions.”
Chris Attard, visibly emotional in court, addressed Olagunju directly: “You can never take back the memories you left my father with at the end of his life. Imagine it was me on that CCTV assaulting your loved one, what sentence would you expect the court to give me?”
He also called out Unique Personnel UK for what he described as gross negligence, stating, “They should have been in the dock alongside her. This is a care company sending people into the homes of the elderly without proper checks or training.”
As of the time of reporting, Unique Personnel UK had not released a statement regarding the incident.
Three Arrested Over Death of Sex Worker Following Dispute at Ondo Brothel
Operatives of the Ondo State Police Command have arrested three individuals in connection with the death of a commercial sex worker at a brothel in Akure, the state capital.
The incident reportedly occurred over the weekend at a popular brothel located in the Cathedral area of the city. One of the suspects had solicited the services of the deceased but allegedly became furious and demanded a refund of his N15,000 after claiming she failed to meet his expectations.
