On October 11, some agents of Salitz International Ventures, a waste collection company certified by the Anambra State Waste Management Authority, assaulted former Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture president Okechukwu Akaneme and left his spinal cord broken.With his backbone 65% broken, Akaneme fights in the hospital to walk and live again at extremely high costs, according to Ozii Baba Anieto, an X user who revealed fresh details about the incident on Saturday.Anieto explained that the waste collectors claimed Akaneme was yet to settle his waste utility bill and wanted to arrest him, but he would not follow them. Trying to arrest him forcefully, they locked his hands behind his neck. Sadly, Akaneme’s bone cracked and the officials ran away.READ ALSO: Soludo Moves to Deduct Funds From Local Govt Allocations“On October 11, 2024, a team from Anambra State Waste Management Agency stormed Mr. Okechukwu Akaneme’s (former President of Onitsha Chambers of Commerce) residence,” Anieto wrote.On October 11, 2024, a team from Anambra State Waste Management Agency stormed Mr. Okechukwu Akaneme’s (former President of Onitsha Chambers of Commerce) residence. That visit left him paralysed from shoulder down.Below is how it happened.#JusticeForAkaneme pic.twitter.com/qyPWSXpObn— Ozii Baba Anieto (@ozii_baba) December 7, 2024 “That visit left him paralysed from shoulder down.The team from Anambra Waste Management Agency who stormed his house claimed he hadn’t paid his sanitation rate.“Akaneme refused to go with them, and one of the team members wove his hands through Mr Akaneme’s armpit and locked it behind his neck leading to his bone cracking. Instead of taking him to the hospital immediately, they all ran away leaving, the sexagenarian lying half dead on the floor.“It was the neighbours and Mr. Akaneme’s employees who took him to Holy Rosary Specialist Hospital and Maternity, waterside, Onitsha from where he was referred to the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, (NAUTH) Nnewi, where he was driven to in the hospital’s ambulance with life support.”At the hospital, medical workers confirmed that Akaneme’s spinal cord had been 65% damaged. His treatment bills have surpassed N20 million.Akaneme’s hospital bill.“It was at NAUTH that an MRI examination conducted on him showed that his spinal cord has been damaged about 65%,” Anieto further stated.“Today, Mr. Akaneme, a former president of Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, former Chairman of Nigerian Union of Journalists, Onitsha federated chapel, prominent leader in the Onitsha business community and a major employer of labour, is currently at Memphis Hospital, Enugu, battling to remain alive with hopes of him ever walking again fast diminishing.“As the hospital bills pile up to an overwhelming N20,751,000, we must ask ourselves — how much longer can he and his family endure this ordeal?”‘WE ARE INVESTIGATING’Tochukwu Obodogha, the permanent secretary of the state ministry of environment, had acknowledged the occurrence on November 19 and directed an investigation of the case.“In light of recent compelling viral reports concerning an unfortunate incident involving Akaneme Okechukwu, a former President of the Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, who was brutally assaulted and injured by your operatives on Friday, October 11, 2024, the Anambra State Ministry of Environment has initiated a comprehensive investigation,” Obodogha wrote in a statement.READ ALSO: 3 Weeks After, Anambra Gov’t Yet to Find Private Developer Whose Building Killed 5 in Ochanja Market“Consequent to these circumstances, this letter serves to suspend all operations of Salitz International Ventures with immediate effect pending the full investigation’s outcome, require your full cooperation with the ongoing investigative proceedings, and nform you that the Anambra State Waste Management Authority has been directed to temporarily suspend your waste management operating licence, pending the outcome of the investigation.”FIJ attempted to inquire from the government what progress had been made about its investigation, but Christian Aburime, the governor’s spokesperson, had not sent the environment commissioner’s phone number, which he promised to, at press time.The post How Anambra Waste Collectors Broke Resident Okechukwu Akaneme’s Spinal Cord appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.