A Nigerian man, injured during an assault in a taxi company on Parnell Street, Dublin, at the weekend, has said he feared for his life during the attack.
Mr Ola Akinola (29), who arrived in the State in March seeking political asylum, has claimed a man attacked him at 11.30 p.m. on Friday. He was discharged from the Mater hospital yesterday after receiving treatment for his injuries, which included facial lacerations and bruising to his head and body.
According to Mr Akinola, he was attacked by the young man when he reached to get his bag of laundry from under a chair and brushed the leg of the man's female friend. He said up to 25 people witnessed the incident.
"He jumped out of nowhere and came at me and started hitting me everywhere. He chased me outside and I fell and hit my head and then he started kicking me," said Mr Akinola.
"The girl kept shouting `stop it, you'll kill him' and she was holding my head in her hands. I can't remember what happened then."