A Victoria's Secret shop
assistant was scarred for life when a mysterious figure wearing a niqab threw
acid in her face as she walked home from work.
Naomi Oni, 20, was left with severe burns on her
head, neck, arms, legs and body after she was attacked in Dagenham, east
London. She has spent the past month having skin grafts and almost went blind,
although she has now recovered her vision in her left eye and has partial sight
in her right.
Her attacker was dressed like a Muslim woman in a niqab, so
Ms Oni could not see their face. Police have no idea who was responsible for
the vicious attack, or why they did it. The shop assistant - who is sole
carer for her disabled mother Marian Yalekhue, 52 - was making the five-minute
journey back to their flat from the bus stop when she heard someone behind her.
She had just finished a late shift at the store and
was on the phone to her boyfriend. "I’d been working a late shift
and was talking to my boyfriend about what we were going to do for New Year
when I saw this Muslim woman wearing a niqab covering her face. I thought it
was a bit strange at that time of night, but she didn’t say anything and I kept
on walking. Then I felt a splash on my face. It burned and I screamed out. I
started running and screaming, holding my face, all the way home. I didn’t look
back. I got home and I was screaming and banging on the door. I was hysterical.
Luckily my godmother, who is a pharmacist, was at home with my mum and she
helped me and kept dipping my face in water and trying to calm me down until
the police and ambulance got there. I was in shock. Saying: "Who would do
that? Who would do that? How could anyone do this?"
She has released the shocking images of her
disfigured face in an appeal for help to catch the attacker whose identity was
concealed behind the Muslim women’s dress which completely covers the face
apart from the eyes. Ms Oni decided to speak out after police failed to
establish any motive behind the December 30 attack or identify a suspect. She
said the attack had destroyed her life and left her too afraid to venture out
or even show her face in public. "I look in the mirror and it just isn’t
me. I’ll never look the same again. I’ve always been outgoing and confident in
my job and in my personal life, used to getting attention for the way I dress
or my hair, but now I don’t want anyone looking at me."
"I don’t want people to see me in public. I
don’t want to get the Tube or the bus. If I have to go to the hospital I take a
taxi. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go back to my job. I was planning to
go to college in September to study media and fashion, but I don’t even know if
I’ll be able to do that."The store assistant has been told she faces
months if not years of skin grafts and further plastic surgery and even then is
likely to be left with severe facial scarring. She and her mother say they are
too afraid to go back to their council flat in Dagenham. They are currently
sleeping on a friend’s sofa-bed after turning down the offer to be rehoused in
Tottenham on safety grounds.
Ms Oni said she had been inspired by the story of
Katie Piper, the model who launched a charity and spoke out publicly after
falling victim to an acid attack orchestrated by her boyfriend, but that she
would never feel safe with her attacker still at large. "Even with the
support of my family and friends and boyfriend I feel very alone. Nothing is
going to be same anymore." A Scotland Yard spokesman said acid
attacks were "extremely rare" and that detectives were keeping an
"open mind as to the motive." Officers from Barking and Dagenham are
investigating. No arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing.
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