A twenty three years old man in the Northern town of Mile 91 whose rival poured acid on has reportedly got blind and left to languish.

“As a young man, I have faced difficulties since this incident occurred. Today, I have lost my eyesight and permanently blind. I’m languishing here,” the victim said.

On Thursday, August 22, 2024, Ibrahim Conteh, an employee of Miro Forestry Company residing in the New Site area in Mile 91, Tonkolili District, was accompanied to the Mile 91 Police Station by a cross section of family members who reported that an unknown individual threw a substance on his face.

Conteh, the victim was on nightshift, and he was on his way to work when his attacker came from the other side of the road and threw the acid on his face. Eyewitnesses said they heard him crying for help.

Though the people around him ended up leading him home, they couldn’t save Conteh from losing his eyesight because the perpetrator had done the act before they could reach the scene.

A few hours after the incident, it was revealed that one Abdul Kassim Turay who was later arrested in Freetown was Conteh’s attacker.

According to reports from multiple sources, the said Abdul Kassim Turay and the victim have been at loggerheads over a woman. On several occasions, the family confirmed that the now suspect in custody had been to the house, asking the family to warn Conteh to stay away from his girlfriend.

The disappearance of Turay immediately after the alleged incident left the majority here with the conviction that he perpetrated the act.

Though he was responding to treatment in Freetown, a family member has lately informed our medium that the Doctors have confirmed the victim has lost his eyesight.

“He won’t see with both eyes again,” the family member said.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Mile 91 Police Division is investigating the matter. According to a Police source, the file in respect of the said matter was sent to the State Counsel in Makeni for legal advice. The Mile 91 Police Division said the suspect was in their custody and will do whatever the State Counsel advises.

Meanwhile, Conteh is asking private individuals, Non Governmental Organizations and the Government of Sierra Leone for support.

Above all, Conteh said he’s calling on the Sierra Leone Police and the Judiciary to ensure justice is served.