A Nigerian caregiver, Bilikesu Olagunju has been sentenced to six weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 50 hours of unpaid community service for ill treatment of an 88-year-old dementia patient.
She pleaded guilty to one-count charge of ill-treatment or willful neglect of an individual in her care at the Woolwich Crown Court.
Olagunju was captured on hidden camera violently abusing her patient, John Attard, in his home in Bexley, Kent, just a day before he was found unresponsive and later died in hospital.
The disturbing footage, recorded on Christmas Eve 2022, showed Olagunju dragging the frail man across the floor, stripping him in full view of the street, shouting threats, and ignoring his repeated cries of pain.
At one point, she told him, “Maybe I will beat you up. I will flog you. I’ll take you to the GP to get injections. I will call the police on you.”
Olagunju, 42, had been working for Unique Personnel UK for just six days when the incident occurred.
The next morning, Attard was found unresponsive in bed by his son, Chris Attard, with blood on his face.
He was rushed to the hospital but never regained consciousness and died 10 days later.
While a post-mortem did not link the abuse directly to his death, the family believes the trauma contributed significantly.
Chris Attard, who had installed the CCTV to monitor his father’s care, said, “If those cameras had not been there, that person could still be out there treating elderly people like this.” he criticised the sentence as inadequate, “What kind of deterrent is that?”
In court, jurors reviewed the footage breakdown, which showed Olagunju arriving at 11:20 a.m. to assist with bathing and breakfast.
She was seen dragging Attard by his collar, yelling at him to stand, pouring marmalade into his coffee despite his diabetes, and spilling hot liquid on him.
When Attard fell, Olagunju called her employer but ignored instructions not to move him.
Instead, she attempted to lift him herself, saying, “A man should have been sent for this job.” Throughout the ordeal, the elderly man repeatedly cried, “You are hurting me.”
Chris Attard, visibly emotional during his court statement, described the impact, “She is lifting him like a rag doll. His face was distorted with pain. It was Christmas morning when I found him unresponsive. Ten days later, he was gone.”
Addressing Olagunju directly, he said, “You can never take back the memories you left my father with, or the pain you’ve left us with. Imagine it was your loved one on that CCTV, and I was the one standing where you are now. What sentence would you want?”
Judge Charlotte Welsh condemned the lack of adequate training Olagunju received, stating, “It beggars belief that someone would be assigned a vulnerable man with dementia as their first patient. Your actions reflect a complete failure to treat him with dignity and respect.”
Olagunju wept silently in court. Her lawyer, Mr. Tijani, said she was “ashamed” and accepted full responsibility, citing her lack of experience and mental distress. He noted she had no previous convictions and had only recently arrived in the UK.
Following sentencing, Chris Attard shifted focus to the care agency, accusing Unique Personnel UK of negligence. “That woman is out of my head now. My mission is to expose this company. They should have been in the dock alongside her,” he said.
“This is a care agency sending undertrained workers into the homes of vulnerable people. Where were the checks? Where was the training?” he asked.
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