Juliana Francis
Thursday, July 30, 2020
109 Nigerians repatriated from Mali, to be isolated
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Herdsmen threatened to behead me if I didn’t pay N20m –Kidnap victim
 |
| The suspect |
By Juliana Francis
A kidnapped victim, who simply wished to be addressed as Mr Kingsley, has narrated how suspected herdsmen abducted him and his pregnant wife in Rivers State and then threatened to decapitate him if his family members didn’t pay 20 Million as ransom.
Baby factory: Cleric arrested for drugging pregnant girls, selling babies
 |
| The rescued victims |
By Juliana Francis
The General Overseer of Grate Mercy Deliverance Ministry, Pastor Maureen Martins, 45, has been arrested for drugging pregnant teenage girls, inducing them into labour and then selling their babies.
Suspect: How we used APC, Tinubu, Dasuki’s names to swindle contractor
By Juliana Francis
A 35-year-old suspected fraudster, Isiaka Olatunde, has revealed how he and his brother, Ismaila Olatunji, allegedly used the names of the National Leader of the All Peoples Congress (APC), Senator Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), to swindle a contractor N25million.
The suspects, were alleged to have swindled the contractor, Ganiuyu Orimoyi, N25million, under guise of helping him procure contracts from the office of the Dasuki.
A 35-year-old suspected fraudster, Isiaka Olatunde, has revealed how he and his brother, Ismaila Olatunji, allegedly used the names of the National Leader of the All Peoples Congress (APC), Senator Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), to swindle a contractor N25million.
The suspects, were alleged to have swindled the contractor, Ganiuyu Orimoyi, N25million, under guise of helping him procure contracts from the office of the Dasuki.
Bank MD jailed for N66.6m fraud
Juliana Francis
 |
| Udemadu |
The former managing Director of Achina
Microfinance Bank, Aguata, Mr. Jonathan Nnamdi Udemadu, has been sentenced to
prison for N66.6million fraud.
Two pastors sentenced to prison for stealing N32m
Juliana Francis
Pastor Glory Okeoghene Aberefa and
Reverend Vincent Okpogo, have both been sentenced to prison for stealing.
The pastors were convicted by Justice F.
N. Azinge of the Delta State High Court, sitting in Otor-Udu. The Aberefa and
Okpogo were sentenced to 16 and 10 years imprisonment respectively.
Patients, pawns on Nigeria’s COVID-19 chessboard (II)
CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK
In this concluding, JULIANA FRANCIS writes that cases of coronavirus have continued to create serious challenges in Nigeria’s public health sector
On June 24, our reporter visited the Lagos Island Maternity Hospital. He got there by 10a.m l. and by 11a.m., a doctor had attended to him, after asking him if he had a cough, fever or difficulty in breathing.
We have to protect ourselves -Health workers
Patients are not the only complainants. Medical personnel also have their challenges. They say they are understaffed and overworked. They also complain that their colleagues are being infected. A doctor working with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) expressed anger over patients’ accusations of non-attendance.
He said: “It’s not as if we’re not attending to patients. Normally, we see a lot of patients in a day but because of COVID-19, we’re trying to maintain social distancing. Before, we used to attend to 100 or 200 patients in a day but now, we have reduced the number to 50 patients.
If the health issue is not an emergency, please stay at home, so you don’t get infected! “Some people get exposed at hospitals. But we’re still attending to patients; our wards are full, while so many hospitals have been shut down. Hospitals are referring their patients to us. Is LUTH the only facility in Nigeria? Everyone keeps coming with referrals. We too need to rest! We have families! We are short-staffed. We attend to most of our health workers now, they have been exposed, and they have COVID-1.
They contracted the virus in the name of treating people. Patients should go to other hospitals too. Government has not paid hazard allowance. We cannot come and die because of people.” Reacting to allegations that patients’ files are tagged COVID-19 for some unfathomable reasons, the doctor said: “I wouldn’t know about other hospitals, but here in LUTH, we don’t tag patient files COVID-19. It is when they test positive, they are tagged COVID-19.” It was because of the challenges faced by the medical personnel that doctors, at state-run hospitals, on June 15, 2020, embarked on a strike.
The complaints ranged from poor welfare to inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE). Since the outbreak of the virus in Nigeria, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), more than 800 health workers have been infected. The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which constitutes more than 40 per cent of Nigeria’s doctors, complained that many health workers have died due to lack of proper equipment. Strikes by medics are common in Nigeria, where the health sector has been underfunded for years.
The country has over 200 million people and 75,000 doctors. Among those doctors, at least 33,000 have left the shores of Nigeria for greener pastures, while 42,000 are now in the country. Indeed, among the 42,000 left, many have gone into businesses and politics, leaving roughly 35,000 to handle the 200 million Nigerians. In Lagos State alone, there are over 21 million people, to be handled by 2,000 registered doctors. The NARD President, Aliyu Sokomba, disclosed that 10 medical doctors have died of coronavirus.
In Lagos State hospitals, as at June 20, over 90 nurses had been infected and one death recorded. The President, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Abdulrafiu Alani Adeniji, said nurses exposed and tested for the virus are 2,130, while those that tested positive are 220. Death across states is six. It was also gathered that workers at Record Sections are majorly infected in most hospitals.
The General-Secretary, Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, Lagos State branch, Mr. Jonah Okotie, disclosed that nationwide, six pharmacists have been infected, but no death recorded. A nurse at the Ikorodu General Hospital said the hospital management did not provide workers with PPE and complained of staff being under pressure. She said: “We were given nylons to cover ourselves and a pair of gloves each for all nurses to work from 8a.m. to 4p.m., risking our lives in order to take care of patients. We are overworked and under a lot of stress. During the lockdown, we looked for means to get to work.
Some weeks ago, two of our nurses were exposed to a COVID-19 patient in the hospital. The patient came in lying; when she started showing symptoms of COVID-19, she changed her story and told us she had just returned from overseas. We isolated the patient, but before then, a lot of staff had come in contact with her, without adequate protective equipment. We need help so that we as caregivers do not become COVID- 19 patients.” Reacting to some of the allegations, the NARD President, Sokomba, said he has never heard of patients’ files being tagged COVID-19.
He said: “I’m hearing this allegation for the first time. What do hospitals do with these forms? First, you need to undergo the process that leads to diagnosing COVID-19. It involves processes, so if the doctor had reasons to suspect the patient should be tested for COVID-19 and gave out a form and later felt there was no need, and collected the form, I don’t see the cause for alarm. Ordinarily, if Nigeria was a rich country, everyone should be tested for COVID-19. You ask a physician to tell you what is wrong with you, he asked you to go through a test and you’re complaining.
I don’t understand what the big deal in testing for COVID-19 is. Why are people scared? If you go to hospital, get tested and treated, the outcome will be good. The people that have problems are those that get to hospital late. “If a patient was given the form and it was later taken, it means the doctor who saw him or her had evaluated there was no need for COVID-19 testing.” When Sokomba was told some patients had argued the forms and numbers were used as a scam to inflate the number of COVID-19 cases, which NCDC presents to the country every day, he laughed and said it was not possible.
He explained: “Let me tell you how those things work in hospitals. The doctors that see patients, do it based on experience and expertise. They then take a decision and send it forward. The next doctor that sees the patient is usually senior to the first. The senior doctor will decide whether to overrule the first doctor’s concern or confirm it, and work on it.
The first doctor is likely a general practitioner, who then sends the patient to a particular department due to his complaint. If the next doctor feels there’s no need, he attends to him, but for the COVID-19, the patient is discharged. “Let me make one correction, it is NCDC that does testing. Maybe some hospitals will want to use the form and give it to the state government. The NCDC doesn’t deal with forms, it only asks for samples. It is NCDC that gives hospitals results, but hospitals can use the form and send them to the government that they have this number of people.
“Look at it this way, if I want to fill any form and claim COVID-19, in order to use it as a scam to make money, do I need anyone to fill the forms for me? I can just fabricate names and numbers. I have the forms, they are with me. I can fill 1,000 forms myself; it is not as if patients’ passports are attached to the forms. If it was for a scam, hospitals or doctors wouldn’t need patients to do that, they can fill all the forms themselves. After all, nobody will go to hospitals to verify the names or identities of the patients.”
Further reacting to allegations that some patients, especially the terminally ill, are being neglected because of COVID19, Sokomba acknowledged it, but said things would be different soon. He said: “Weeks ago, there was a circular to all hospitals, to operate fully and take care of both COVID-19 and non- COVID-19 patients. I want to believe this allegation is an old one, when there was restriction of movement. I think with time, everything will go back to normal. I don’t think there is any health care that is under lockdown anymore.”
The Chief Medical Director of the Warri Central Hospital, Dr. Paul Okubor, insisted the COVID-19 forms have nothing to do with a patient being COVID- 19 positive. It also has nothing to with scam or escalating NCDC positive cases in order to defraud the Federal Government.
He explained: “There are no forms written COVID-19 that are given to patients. But as part of our COVID-19 preventive protocols, every patient who comes into the hospital, goes to the ‘Trial Centre.’ At that centre, the patient will be asked questions.
The questions help doctors to place patients into various COVID-19 groups. For instance, someone who is coughing, has fever and sore throat is at high risk of COVID-19. If from the checklist, the doctor thinks he or she is at high risk of COVID-19, it will be documented in the form, so that the next doctor will see that such a patient is one, he should prepare adequately to see in terms of going the extra mile to protect himself or herself.
Every doctor wears a face mask while seeing patients and maintains appropriate distancing, but if he has to see a patient that has fever and is coughing, plus other symptoms suspicious of COVID-19, then the doctor has to wear protective gear.”
Okubor said that the only way for a doctor to know high risk patients, is for those at the Trial Centre to write something on the form, which will be taken to a particular department for the next doctor. He added: “This doesn’t mean the patient, who was given a form, has COVID- 19. COVID-19 diagnoses are made only after testing.” Okubor added that asking questions to know their high risk group is a global standard protocol.
Terminally ill patients in shadow of COVID-19
The Chairman of Sickle Cell Aid Foundation, Shira Local Government Area, Bauchi State, Muhammad Kafi Liman, lamented that the shortage of blood bags, high cost of drugs, and other sundry issues are affecting sickle cell patients as a result of inter-state border closures then. According to him, the lockdown, precipitated by the COVID-19 outbreak worsened the condition of sickle cell patients. He said: “The lockdown has affected us by putting our lives at risk and making us live in constant fear over the nonavailability or shortage of palliative drugs for sickle cell anaemia.
It has also led to a shortage of nutritious food necessary for the production of red blood cells. The government and other stakeholders are taking drastic measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 without taking us, sickle cell anaemia patients, into consideration.”
Liman argued that the government has failed to ensure the protection of sickle cell patients because of COVID-19 and also failed to create awareness and educate sickle cell patients on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, sickle patients, especially the less privileged, are suffering because of shortage of drugs, as the lockdown made most vital drugs become exorbitant. He said: “We used to buy a blood bag at the rate of N2,000, but with the government-imposed extended restrictions on movement, its price increased. This high cost of essential products has destabilised our lives.
The government should be sensitive to the needs of sickle cell patients. We are unable to cope.” When our reporter paid a visit to public and private hospitals and some chemists in Bauchi State some days after the enforcement of the lockdown, he noticed that the price of a blood bag had risen from N2,000 to N3,000 and N4,000 in public and private hospitals. The price of anti-malaria medicines almost doubled going by what it was before the lockdown. The President of Doctors Save A Life Foundation, Richard Okoye, said he was not happy with the healthcare delivery because of COVID-19.
He said too many sick people have been neglected, died and are dying because the health sector is no longer giving them attention. Okoye opined that the NCDC, public and private hospitals should synergise to save lives. He said: “Most deaths these days are not COVID-19 related.
Our professionals know the life+threatening symptoms of COVID-19 are respiratory distress. The person will be gasping for air. Before the onset of COVID-19, people had been having breathlessness. Breathlessness is secondary to congenital heart failure from asthmatic attack, and a number of chronic illnesses can block people from breathing properly. But today, we conclude that all people in such situations all have COVID-19. I want to call upon the honourable Minister of Health, NCDC and governors, to look into this subject. Most of our patients can no longer go to hospitals; most hospitals cannot admit them. Ever since St Nicholas Hospital was shut down on the basis of COVID-19, most private hospitals have refused to admit patients.
They tell patients to go and get papers from NCDC before they’ll be treated. Today, a prominent man died, who everyone knew to be hypertensive. The experience came, and all hospitals rejected him. He was taken back home and died in the house. It is time we changed this narrative.
It is time we looked at how these things could be reviewed.” Okoye also recounted that there was a pregnant woman in Owerri, known to be an asthmatic patient. The woman had a crisis, went to several hospitals, but none of the hospitals accepted her.
“There are a lot of sick Nigerians, right there in their homes, all afraid of coming out, fearful of being identified as being COVID-19 patients. Today, most hypertensive people can’t come out and if the heart is not pumping blood, they might have difficulty in breathing. If such patients go to hospital, they will not be assisted because hospitals will be afraid of receiving them. Hospitals have to wait to get the diagnosis from NCDC before they give attention to such patients,” said Okoye.
He maintained that shutting down private hospitals is not helping matters, because they are the bedrock of the Nigerian healthcare. “How do we save our kidney, asthmatic and patients of different chronicity that are afraid to come out today because hospitals will assume they have COVID-19? “Let the NCDC, the Ministry of Health, the governors have a meeting with the leadership of the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMP), discuss and collaborate with NCDC whereby every hospital can be instructed.
If you have an index or suspicion, you can have an isolation hall, NCDC could also get involved, go round the different hospitals, checkout a place they can recommend for isolation. Let them work in partnership, with the isolation ward available in the hospitals. “We will save the lives of most of the people that already have chronic illnesses and need some level of emergency attention,” Okoye added.
Government and public health sector
The National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr. Sani Aliyu, who lamented a drop in the quality and access to health services in the country, said health services are no longer concentrating on other health conditions. He said: “We have seen reduced access to health care, medical diagnosis for other conditions especially for the most vulnerable population like children, the elderly and those with underlying illnesses such as diabetes.
People need to be able to access care. We have been observing a steady rise in maternal and child mortality as a result of disruption of essential services. We’ve also seen mother and child health services, routine vaccinations, access to care for chronic conditions such as HIV and other treatment not being delivered in our hospitals.
We’re seeing diversions of certain drugs like second line treatment for HIV currently being used for COVID-19.” Aliyu appealed to health facilities to explore extensive precautionary measures to ensure no one is denied access to healthcare.
He said: “We’re asking health institutions to make sure they have proper access processes for people presenting with COVID-19 symptoms, they must have holding areas and screening areas so that the staff can protect themselves and at the same time be able to deliver care.
The PTF will continue to protect the lives and safety of health workers in the public and private sector. We’re appealing to the private sector facilities to make sure they have adequate PPE to protect their staff and get in touch with us if they have difficulties obtaining PPE.
We can point them in the right direction. “Hospitals are there to look after patients, hospitals are not there to turn back patients. People should not be allowed to suffer or die because of COVID-19 infection. We must not allow preventable deaths to occur in our communities simply because of COVID-19 or because we are afraid of it.” The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, while speaking on NARD and its challenges, said PPE had been made available to many hospitals.
He added: “There are countries in the world where there are shortages. In fact, there was global shortage. Sometimes, it may be that the warehouse of the facilities may not give it out, I don’t know, but we are on the central side doing everything to facilitate distribution of PPE.
“We also explained that this COVID- 19 period is not a good time to withdraw services because people’s lives can be at risk. COVID-19 does not discriminate.” Ehanire also expressed disappointment over the continual rejection of patients by some hospitals.
He said: “With the question of the rejection of patients at treatment centres, that is something we have been preaching against. We have always said that the least you can do is do a trial, examine a patient and give him or her advice because if you give someone advice about what to do or where to go, it is also a medical help. That is what we expect every practitioner to do. We want the services to go on. “It is true that there has been a decline in the routine n services being offered at our hospitals, both public and private.
We want those figures to get better, in the entire mission we have entered, we have always sent people from family health and people from primary health care, to ensure that they restore and revive the problem of lack of reducing services to routine cases.”
The minister said retired health workers should come out of their retirement to volunteer. He added: “We require more efforts because doctors are working excessive hours. Some of them are doing double shifts and there are instances when patients with very serious medical challenges require many hours of a doctor’s attention. We need volunteer doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists and so on.” Due to the COVID-19 and its attendant challenges on the health sector, patients and doctors, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has rolled out efforts to cushion the effects of the pandemic.
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo, disclosed that N126 billion of the N500 billion initial stimulus fund factored into the current budget is going into healthcare. He added: “We’ve all noted how states have risen to the challenge of the COVID- 19 pandemic and how healthcare facilities are being resuscitated, with new isolation centres and new ICUs coming up. The number of testing centres have also increased. We are hopeful that we’ll be able to sustain that momentum.”
•This report was facilitated by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under its COVID-19 Reality Check project
In this concluding, JULIANA FRANCIS writes that cases of coronavirus have continued to create serious challenges in Nigeria’s public health sector
On June 24, our reporter visited the Lagos Island Maternity Hospital. He got there by 10a.m l. and by 11a.m., a doctor had attended to him, after asking him if he had a cough, fever or difficulty in breathing.
We have to protect ourselves -Health workers
Patients are not the only complainants. Medical personnel also have their challenges. They say they are understaffed and overworked. They also complain that their colleagues are being infected. A doctor working with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) expressed anger over patients’ accusations of non-attendance.
He said: “It’s not as if we’re not attending to patients. Normally, we see a lot of patients in a day but because of COVID-19, we’re trying to maintain social distancing. Before, we used to attend to 100 or 200 patients in a day but now, we have reduced the number to 50 patients.
If the health issue is not an emergency, please stay at home, so you don’t get infected! “Some people get exposed at hospitals. But we’re still attending to patients; our wards are full, while so many hospitals have been shut down. Hospitals are referring their patients to us. Is LUTH the only facility in Nigeria? Everyone keeps coming with referrals. We too need to rest! We have families! We are short-staffed. We attend to most of our health workers now, they have been exposed, and they have COVID-1.
They contracted the virus in the name of treating people. Patients should go to other hospitals too. Government has not paid hazard allowance. We cannot come and die because of people.” Reacting to allegations that patients’ files are tagged COVID-19 for some unfathomable reasons, the doctor said: “I wouldn’t know about other hospitals, but here in LUTH, we don’t tag patient files COVID-19. It is when they test positive, they are tagged COVID-19.” It was because of the challenges faced by the medical personnel that doctors, at state-run hospitals, on June 15, 2020, embarked on a strike.
The complaints ranged from poor welfare to inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE). Since the outbreak of the virus in Nigeria, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), more than 800 health workers have been infected. The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which constitutes more than 40 per cent of Nigeria’s doctors, complained that many health workers have died due to lack of proper equipment. Strikes by medics are common in Nigeria, where the health sector has been underfunded for years.
The country has over 200 million people and 75,000 doctors. Among those doctors, at least 33,000 have left the shores of Nigeria for greener pastures, while 42,000 are now in the country. Indeed, among the 42,000 left, many have gone into businesses and politics, leaving roughly 35,000 to handle the 200 million Nigerians. In Lagos State alone, there are over 21 million people, to be handled by 2,000 registered doctors. The NARD President, Aliyu Sokomba, disclosed that 10 medical doctors have died of coronavirus.
In Lagos State hospitals, as at June 20, over 90 nurses had been infected and one death recorded. The President, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Abdulrafiu Alani Adeniji, said nurses exposed and tested for the virus are 2,130, while those that tested positive are 220. Death across states is six. It was also gathered that workers at Record Sections are majorly infected in most hospitals.
The General-Secretary, Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, Lagos State branch, Mr. Jonah Okotie, disclosed that nationwide, six pharmacists have been infected, but no death recorded. A nurse at the Ikorodu General Hospital said the hospital management did not provide workers with PPE and complained of staff being under pressure. She said: “We were given nylons to cover ourselves and a pair of gloves each for all nurses to work from 8a.m. to 4p.m., risking our lives in order to take care of patients. We are overworked and under a lot of stress. During the lockdown, we looked for means to get to work.
Some weeks ago, two of our nurses were exposed to a COVID-19 patient in the hospital. The patient came in lying; when she started showing symptoms of COVID-19, she changed her story and told us she had just returned from overseas. We isolated the patient, but before then, a lot of staff had come in contact with her, without adequate protective equipment. We need help so that we as caregivers do not become COVID- 19 patients.” Reacting to some of the allegations, the NARD President, Sokomba, said he has never heard of patients’ files being tagged COVID-19.
He said: “I’m hearing this allegation for the first time. What do hospitals do with these forms? First, you need to undergo the process that leads to diagnosing COVID-19. It involves processes, so if the doctor had reasons to suspect the patient should be tested for COVID-19 and gave out a form and later felt there was no need, and collected the form, I don’t see the cause for alarm. Ordinarily, if Nigeria was a rich country, everyone should be tested for COVID-19. You ask a physician to tell you what is wrong with you, he asked you to go through a test and you’re complaining.
I don’t understand what the big deal in testing for COVID-19 is. Why are people scared? If you go to hospital, get tested and treated, the outcome will be good. The people that have problems are those that get to hospital late. “If a patient was given the form and it was later taken, it means the doctor who saw him or her had evaluated there was no need for COVID-19 testing.” When Sokomba was told some patients had argued the forms and numbers were used as a scam to inflate the number of COVID-19 cases, which NCDC presents to the country every day, he laughed and said it was not possible.
He explained: “Let me tell you how those things work in hospitals. The doctors that see patients, do it based on experience and expertise. They then take a decision and send it forward. The next doctor that sees the patient is usually senior to the first. The senior doctor will decide whether to overrule the first doctor’s concern or confirm it, and work on it.
The first doctor is likely a general practitioner, who then sends the patient to a particular department due to his complaint. If the next doctor feels there’s no need, he attends to him, but for the COVID-19, the patient is discharged. “Let me make one correction, it is NCDC that does testing. Maybe some hospitals will want to use the form and give it to the state government. The NCDC doesn’t deal with forms, it only asks for samples. It is NCDC that gives hospitals results, but hospitals can use the form and send them to the government that they have this number of people.
“Look at it this way, if I want to fill any form and claim COVID-19, in order to use it as a scam to make money, do I need anyone to fill the forms for me? I can just fabricate names and numbers. I have the forms, they are with me. I can fill 1,000 forms myself; it is not as if patients’ passports are attached to the forms. If it was for a scam, hospitals or doctors wouldn’t need patients to do that, they can fill all the forms themselves. After all, nobody will go to hospitals to verify the names or identities of the patients.”
Further reacting to allegations that some patients, especially the terminally ill, are being neglected because of COVID19, Sokomba acknowledged it, but said things would be different soon. He said: “Weeks ago, there was a circular to all hospitals, to operate fully and take care of both COVID-19 and non- COVID-19 patients. I want to believe this allegation is an old one, when there was restriction of movement. I think with time, everything will go back to normal. I don’t think there is any health care that is under lockdown anymore.”
The Chief Medical Director of the Warri Central Hospital, Dr. Paul Okubor, insisted the COVID-19 forms have nothing to do with a patient being COVID- 19 positive. It also has nothing to with scam or escalating NCDC positive cases in order to defraud the Federal Government.
He explained: “There are no forms written COVID-19 that are given to patients. But as part of our COVID-19 preventive protocols, every patient who comes into the hospital, goes to the ‘Trial Centre.’ At that centre, the patient will be asked questions.
The questions help doctors to place patients into various COVID-19 groups. For instance, someone who is coughing, has fever and sore throat is at high risk of COVID-19. If from the checklist, the doctor thinks he or she is at high risk of COVID-19, it will be documented in the form, so that the next doctor will see that such a patient is one, he should prepare adequately to see in terms of going the extra mile to protect himself or herself.
Every doctor wears a face mask while seeing patients and maintains appropriate distancing, but if he has to see a patient that has fever and is coughing, plus other symptoms suspicious of COVID-19, then the doctor has to wear protective gear.”
Okubor said that the only way for a doctor to know high risk patients, is for those at the Trial Centre to write something on the form, which will be taken to a particular department for the next doctor. He added: “This doesn’t mean the patient, who was given a form, has COVID- 19. COVID-19 diagnoses are made only after testing.” Okubor added that asking questions to know their high risk group is a global standard protocol.
Terminally ill patients in shadow of COVID-19
The Chairman of Sickle Cell Aid Foundation, Shira Local Government Area, Bauchi State, Muhammad Kafi Liman, lamented that the shortage of blood bags, high cost of drugs, and other sundry issues are affecting sickle cell patients as a result of inter-state border closures then. According to him, the lockdown, precipitated by the COVID-19 outbreak worsened the condition of sickle cell patients. He said: “The lockdown has affected us by putting our lives at risk and making us live in constant fear over the nonavailability or shortage of palliative drugs for sickle cell anaemia.
It has also led to a shortage of nutritious food necessary for the production of red blood cells. The government and other stakeholders are taking drastic measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 without taking us, sickle cell anaemia patients, into consideration.”
Liman argued that the government has failed to ensure the protection of sickle cell patients because of COVID-19 and also failed to create awareness and educate sickle cell patients on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, sickle patients, especially the less privileged, are suffering because of shortage of drugs, as the lockdown made most vital drugs become exorbitant. He said: “We used to buy a blood bag at the rate of N2,000, but with the government-imposed extended restrictions on movement, its price increased. This high cost of essential products has destabilised our lives.
The government should be sensitive to the needs of sickle cell patients. We are unable to cope.” When our reporter paid a visit to public and private hospitals and some chemists in Bauchi State some days after the enforcement of the lockdown, he noticed that the price of a blood bag had risen from N2,000 to N3,000 and N4,000 in public and private hospitals. The price of anti-malaria medicines almost doubled going by what it was before the lockdown. The President of Doctors Save A Life Foundation, Richard Okoye, said he was not happy with the healthcare delivery because of COVID-19.
He said too many sick people have been neglected, died and are dying because the health sector is no longer giving them attention. Okoye opined that the NCDC, public and private hospitals should synergise to save lives. He said: “Most deaths these days are not COVID-19 related.
Our professionals know the life+threatening symptoms of COVID-19 are respiratory distress. The person will be gasping for air. Before the onset of COVID-19, people had been having breathlessness. Breathlessness is secondary to congenital heart failure from asthmatic attack, and a number of chronic illnesses can block people from breathing properly. But today, we conclude that all people in such situations all have COVID-19. I want to call upon the honourable Minister of Health, NCDC and governors, to look into this subject. Most of our patients can no longer go to hospitals; most hospitals cannot admit them. Ever since St Nicholas Hospital was shut down on the basis of COVID-19, most private hospitals have refused to admit patients.
They tell patients to go and get papers from NCDC before they’ll be treated. Today, a prominent man died, who everyone knew to be hypertensive. The experience came, and all hospitals rejected him. He was taken back home and died in the house. It is time we changed this narrative.
It is time we looked at how these things could be reviewed.” Okoye also recounted that there was a pregnant woman in Owerri, known to be an asthmatic patient. The woman had a crisis, went to several hospitals, but none of the hospitals accepted her.
“There are a lot of sick Nigerians, right there in their homes, all afraid of coming out, fearful of being identified as being COVID-19 patients. Today, most hypertensive people can’t come out and if the heart is not pumping blood, they might have difficulty in breathing. If such patients go to hospital, they will not be assisted because hospitals will be afraid of receiving them. Hospitals have to wait to get the diagnosis from NCDC before they give attention to such patients,” said Okoye.
He maintained that shutting down private hospitals is not helping matters, because they are the bedrock of the Nigerian healthcare. “How do we save our kidney, asthmatic and patients of different chronicity that are afraid to come out today because hospitals will assume they have COVID-19? “Let the NCDC, the Ministry of Health, the governors have a meeting with the leadership of the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMP), discuss and collaborate with NCDC whereby every hospital can be instructed.
If you have an index or suspicion, you can have an isolation hall, NCDC could also get involved, go round the different hospitals, checkout a place they can recommend for isolation. Let them work in partnership, with the isolation ward available in the hospitals. “We will save the lives of most of the people that already have chronic illnesses and need some level of emergency attention,” Okoye added.
Government and public health sector
The National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr. Sani Aliyu, who lamented a drop in the quality and access to health services in the country, said health services are no longer concentrating on other health conditions. He said: “We have seen reduced access to health care, medical diagnosis for other conditions especially for the most vulnerable population like children, the elderly and those with underlying illnesses such as diabetes.
People need to be able to access care. We have been observing a steady rise in maternal and child mortality as a result of disruption of essential services. We’ve also seen mother and child health services, routine vaccinations, access to care for chronic conditions such as HIV and other treatment not being delivered in our hospitals.
We’re seeing diversions of certain drugs like second line treatment for HIV currently being used for COVID-19.” Aliyu appealed to health facilities to explore extensive precautionary measures to ensure no one is denied access to healthcare.
He said: “We’re asking health institutions to make sure they have proper access processes for people presenting with COVID-19 symptoms, they must have holding areas and screening areas so that the staff can protect themselves and at the same time be able to deliver care.
The PTF will continue to protect the lives and safety of health workers in the public and private sector. We’re appealing to the private sector facilities to make sure they have adequate PPE to protect their staff and get in touch with us if they have difficulties obtaining PPE.
We can point them in the right direction. “Hospitals are there to look after patients, hospitals are not there to turn back patients. People should not be allowed to suffer or die because of COVID-19 infection. We must not allow preventable deaths to occur in our communities simply because of COVID-19 or because we are afraid of it.” The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, while speaking on NARD and its challenges, said PPE had been made available to many hospitals.
He added: “There are countries in the world where there are shortages. In fact, there was global shortage. Sometimes, it may be that the warehouse of the facilities may not give it out, I don’t know, but we are on the central side doing everything to facilitate distribution of PPE.
“We also explained that this COVID- 19 period is not a good time to withdraw services because people’s lives can be at risk. COVID-19 does not discriminate.” Ehanire also expressed disappointment over the continual rejection of patients by some hospitals.
He said: “With the question of the rejection of patients at treatment centres, that is something we have been preaching against. We have always said that the least you can do is do a trial, examine a patient and give him or her advice because if you give someone advice about what to do or where to go, it is also a medical help. That is what we expect every practitioner to do. We want the services to go on. “It is true that there has been a decline in the routine n services being offered at our hospitals, both public and private.
We want those figures to get better, in the entire mission we have entered, we have always sent people from family health and people from primary health care, to ensure that they restore and revive the problem of lack of reducing services to routine cases.”
The minister said retired health workers should come out of their retirement to volunteer. He added: “We require more efforts because doctors are working excessive hours. Some of them are doing double shifts and there are instances when patients with very serious medical challenges require many hours of a doctor’s attention. We need volunteer doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists and so on.” Due to the COVID-19 and its attendant challenges on the health sector, patients and doctors, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has rolled out efforts to cushion the effects of the pandemic.
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo, disclosed that N126 billion of the N500 billion initial stimulus fund factored into the current budget is going into healthcare. He added: “We’ve all noted how states have risen to the challenge of the COVID- 19 pandemic and how healthcare facilities are being resuscitated, with new isolation centres and new ICUs coming up. The number of testing centres have also increased. We are hopeful that we’ll be able to sustain that momentum.”
•This report was facilitated by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under its COVID-19 Reality Check project
Patients, pawns on Nigeria’s COVID-19 chessboard (1)
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has created serious challenges
in the public health sector. In this investigation, JULIANA FRANCIS
examines the issues
Our ordeal in public hospitals – Patients
It’s been over 40 days since Tope Asoroda was buried, leaving behind his wife, Oluwakemi and four children. Oluwakemi still appears to be shell shocked over his demise. Her eyes are puffy and red from crying. The mood in the house is mournful. She ignores the pleas of surrounding sympathisers.
Tope died at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and the drama leading to his death is still fresh in the memories of his friends and family members.
Family members blamed LASUTH for his death. According to them, Tope had a stroke, but rather than commence immediate treatment to save his life, doctors tagged his file COVID-19 and went further to place him at an isolation centre at the hospital. He died the following day.
The widow refused to speak as she wept into a soaked handkerchief. She beckoned on Daniel, her 15-year-old son, to tell our reporter how his father died.
Daniel said: “My father woke up and complained that one of his eyes was hurting him. He also said he couldn’t smell. We took him to a private hospital, but after three days, the hospital referred him to LASUTH. He was not attended to until after several hours. The doctor wrote COVID-19 on his file. He died the following day.”
Tope’s friends want to know why his file was tagged COVID-19, when no test was carried out.
Some of them argued that if Tope truly died of COVID-19, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) would have visited his home and neighbours to quarantine them. They also said the referring hospital would have been shut down.
Tope’s friend, Mr. Dayo, who was among those who took him to LASUTH, described his death as a waste.
He recalled the deceased’s last journey. “On 30th of April, we were in the office, when he said he was not feeling well. He called after a day or two to say that he had a stroke. I told him that was not how strokes used to attack people. But before then, he had had issues of Diabetes and High Blood Pressure (BP).”
According to Dayo, Oluwakemi later called to say Tope’s health had not improved. Friends contributed money and moved him to a private hospital.
Dayo narrated: “When I saw him at the hospital, I didn’t like his condition. One of his eyes and head were swollen, and his mouth was tilted to the other side of his face. It was obviously a stroke, though the CT scan showed nothing. The doctor referred us to LASUTH to see a neurosurgeon, saying it could be a tumour. We got there at 11a.m., but doctors didn’t attend to him until 8p.m.
They said there was no bed space. They only attended to him after a phone call from the information minister. One of the doctors said they should take him to the stroke ward, another came to take his temperature. His temperature was high and the doctor started asking questions relating to COVID-19. I told him that Tope had a stroke and urged him to look at his medical history from the referring hospital. Tope had been inside my car for hours, inside the sun, what did the doctor expect his temperature to be? After dilly-dallying, they took him to the isolation centre there. He was the only one there. The last thing I saw before I rushed to my office was someone bringing oxygen.
He had never had a breathing difficulty; I still don’t understand why he was put on oxygen. He was put at the isolation centre and abandoned. He died because he was not given medical attention on time!”
The allegation, that some public hospitals deliberately label patients’ files with a ‘COVID-19’ tag, without requisite evidence, is fast gaining ground and as such, many patients have refused to attend public health care facilities. In addition, patients also allege that since the COVID-19 outbreak, medical personnel in public hospitals prefer to focus on those infected by the pandemic, while those with terminal illnesses are said to have been forgotten and abandoned.
Our investigation revealed that since the outbreak of COVID-19, there are rising cases of preventable deaths and health complications, due to the sudden negligence of other healthcare segments. With over 90 per cent of government’s finances and human resources focused on COVID-19, less attention on other health needs seems to be triggering depreciation in Routine Health (RH) services, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH) services, Family Planning (FP) services and Routine Immunisation (RI) services. Also, progress made against Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as malaria, polio, cancers, diabetes, and hypertension has been disrupted.
Eve, who went to the Warri Central Hospital in Delta State, to complain of toothache, after her bizarre experience, she called the COVID-19 pandemic and NCDC a scam. She said: “When I got there, they asked me if I had just returned from overseas, if I had a fever, was coughing or had difficulty breathing. I told them I only had a dental problem. They gave me a form, written ‘no travel’ and ‘COVID-19 patient discharged.’ I regretted not snapping the form with my phone. When I got to the Dental Section they collected the form from me and asked me to return in a month’s time. In fact, they asked everyone who came to the hospital that day to come back in a month’s time.”
Similarly, a publisher, Mr. Dipo Kehinde, said that last week, he took his daughter to Massey Hospital on Lagos Island, after she started having issues with her voice.
He said: “We were asked to do a series of tests. We did one at Foremost Radiology Consultants Limited in Surulere for N65,000. Within two days N100,000 was gone. We were also referred to the Lagos Island General Hospital to ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) Section. That one was for N25,000. But when we got there, they said the machine will not work until after COVID-19. Do they know when COVID-19 will end? Now, we have all those expensive test results, but we can’t see a doctor until we do the ENT. Luckily, two days ago, my daughter got her voice back. I started thinking: What if it has been a life-threatening ailment? There is trouble out there really! This is not the time for anybody to fall sick.”
Adanma, who uses the Air Force Base Hospital, at Ikeja, equally laments: “Every other ward, except for the General Outpatient Department (GOPD), has been shut down till after COVID-19. Before you see a doctor, you’ll do a test to confirm that your sense of taste and smell are all right. As we speak, I cannot see any consultant because of COVID-19. I have a particular health issue that I have been managing, through the help of a consultant, but now, no consultants are seeing patients. Even when you go for normal treatment, you’ll be made to go through COVID-19 screening. I had to fill a form before I could be allowed to go into the hospital. I was negative to all the questions posed. All these sections, Gynaecology, Paediatrics, MOPD, Cardiology, Orthopaedics, Eye and Dentist, have been shut down till after COVID-19.”
Mr. Sunday Ojeme’s complaint is more puzzling. He was feeling sickly, experiencing symptoms of malaria and ran to the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Health Centre at Egbeda,
for COVID-19 test.
He said: “I was asked a series of questions and my responses were written down. They also asked for my home address and phone number. They asked me to spit out and collected samples from my throat and nostrils. They promised to get back to me after a week. It’s been over six weeks now and I’ve not heard from them. I had to seek assistance from a nurse, who placed me on drip and injections. I’m fine now, but still waiting to hear from NCDC. Even if I’m negative, the right thing should have been to notify me.”
Sceptical Nigerians claim that increasing the number of supposed COVID-19 cases is a way to justify the money being pumped by the Federal Government to contain the pandemic, which they allege is being diverted.
This was corroborated by Blessing, who was present during a sensitisation exercise held for Kubwa Market women, in Abuja. Responding to the group of concerned individuals who were advising on the need to use face masks and maintain good hygiene, she said, “There is no coronavirus! Go to hospitals and tell them to stop rejecting patients. My neighbour, who suffers from asthma, almost died. He had a serious crisis and was rushed to the hospital. He was rejected and the doctors told the family to contact NCDC. If not for God, he would have died.”
Marian Imole was also rejected at the General Hospital Kubwa, as only a limited number of patients were allowed access to doctors.
She said: “I’ve been here since past 7a.m. After workers at Records Section came, they attended to a few patients and asked the rest of us to go home and come back tomorrow. Will I be here to pass through this stress if I am not sick and need to see a doctor? I was here two weeks ago because I was down with typhoid. When I came to see the doctor, he told me that the hospital management team had decided that patients would not be treated. I had no choice but to go to one of the pharmacies around town to get drugs. I came back today because I’m still not feeling well. Asking me to come back tomorrow is really annoying.”
Prompt and decisive steps saved the life of Mrs. Chris Anyanwu. “My wife was pregnant with our first child and suddenly started bleeding. She was rushed to the hospital, but nurses refused to attend to us. We also met a crowd of people shouting and crying that doctors should attend to them. We had to take her to a private clinic. She was immediately operated upon, but we lost the baby two days later. I’m glad I didn’t waste time at the General Hospital after we were rejected. It would have ended in tragedy,” her husband said.
A medical official working with the Ikorodu General Hospital admitted that COVID-19 forms were given to patients, as directed by the state government, adding that during this period of the pandemic, patients should also be treated free of medical charges. The source later revealed that although all medical case files were tagged ‘COVID-19’, to indicate that the person was treated free, it did not mean that the patient was necessarily a COVID-19 patient.
Undercover visits to some public hospitals
Our crew decided to visit some public hospitals to ascertain the truth of these allegations.
On June 15, our undercover ‘patient’ visited LASUTH, but was told it was on strike. On June 25, our patient returned to the hospital. He got there by 11a.m., but the hospital refused to give him an outpatient card. The hospital said it only attends to emergencies and he was advised to go to another General Hospital.
He said: “Many patients were at the Emergency Unit, brought by friends and family members in cars. Many of them came with referral letters but they were not allowed into the hospital building. A red tape demarcated areas where patients were allowed access. Some of the emergency patients, after waiting for hours, left in anger. The medical workers said there was no bed space and not enough doctors. Nurses came out repeatedly to warn tired patients to be extremely careful, that the rate of those being infected at LASUTH was very high. Some of the patients were seen making frantic calls to people they know, working in the hospital to come and fast-track things for them. A woman, who said that her husband needed urgent surgery, had been waiting to see a doctor at the surgery Emergency Unit since 7a.m. When she spoke with me, it was past 2p.m. There was no doctor to attend to her husband, despite his referral letter. Doctors and nurses are scared because of COVID-19 that is why they abandon emergency patients for hours, causing many deaths.”
On June 16, we visited the Igando General Hospital and collected an outpatient card for N500. Toll numbers were given on a first come basis. Our reporter’s number was Batch 3, number 7. Nurses and doctors were heard complaining that their colleagues were being infected by the virus. The hospital started attending to patients by 9:30a.m. A nurse first came out to address the patients, asking them to observe social distance and fill a form. She also told them that if their ailments were not severe, they should state their health issue and the doctor would tell them what to do.
On June 20, our reporter went incognito to Warri Central Hospital, Delta State, to complain of severe chest pain. He paid N500 for his outpatient card.
He was referred to an office, where he was asked to wait for the doctor.
He said: “When I was called, the doctor started asking me questions related to COVID-19. He asked if I had a cough or respiratory challenges. As he was talking, he wanted to start filling a form, but I told him that I didn’t come to the hospital because I had COVID-19. I told him that in spite of my chest pain, I could still fill a form. The doctor said that I should respond to his questions, so that he would know how to handle my case. I repeated that I had chest pain. He refused to give me the form to fill and called a nurse to walk me out.”
Our reporter went round the hospital to investigate further and learnt that most patients have allegedly stopped going to the hospital because of the COVID-19 forms.
He added: “I also learnt that before, they used to give the forms to patients, but when it started generating problems, doctors started to fill them on behalf of the patients. I also learnt that if you have symptoms of COVID-19, they take the person to the isolation centre.”
On June 22, we went to Apapa General Hospital. It was raining. Things were different because of COVID-19. Before, patients were allowed into the hospital building to be attended to by nurses and doctors. But on that particular day, patients were kept outside, under a canopy, inside the rain. The hospital, which used to be full of patients, had fewer patients. Before attending to our reporter, he was asked questions relating to COVID-19 symptoms.
On June 23, our reporter went to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Mushin and Isolo General Hospital, and discovered that due to COVID-19, there was a 100 per cent increase in service fees, drugs and lab tests. These are hospitals primarily established to attend to the healthcare of the poor masses.
Also on June 23, another reporter went to the Diette Koki Memorial Hospital, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, posing as a patient. It was discovered that the virus has also affected the number of patients doctors see on a daily basis.
An official told the ‘supposed patient’ that the hospital has a certain number of patients it attends to everyday and that the reporter came late. This was even though she got there by 8a.m. The nurse snapped: “You want to see a doctor at this time, come back tomorrow! We have exceeded our number for today. You can come back tomorrow. If you are not able to be among the 50 people for the day, the doctor will not see you. Before 7:30a.m. every day, the 50 patients are complete. If you come here by 8a.m., you won’t be seen by any doctor. If you are here for an emergency, you go to the Emergency Unit. We are doing this because of coronavirus.”
At the Isolo General Hospital, Lagos, the outpatient appointment card which used to be N500, is now N1,000. However, patients were attended to.
At LUTH, patients were told to wait outside for a doctor to ascertain the nature of the health complaint, before entry is allowed into the hospital. The hospital said it wouldn’t attend to any case, unless it was an emergency. Our reporter was also attended to outside, with a doctor asking a series of questions. Satisfied our reporter didn’t have COVID-19 symptoms, he was asked to go to the Records Section, which was on the third floor. However, the Record Section, where outpatient cards are usually given, was locked. A nurse said the hospital only attended to sick staff members. The nurse added: “We’re not attending to patients. You can come back in the first week of July. We’re following management’s directives. We can’t attend to anyone until further notice.”
A frustrated patient, Mr. Nelson, who our reporter met at the hospital, fumed: “I was referred to LUTH because of my heart problem. Must I have symptoms of COVID-19 before doctors will attend to me? It’s unfortunate that nothing ever works in this country.”
Another patient, Mr. Kenneth Dike, at Isolo General Hospital, who thought he was speaking with a fellow patient, lamented: “I’ve spent more than I expected because I believed it would be cheaper in a government hospital compared to a private one. We now pay through our noses in government hospitals.”
Mr. Akpan, a patient with liver problems, said he had been coming to the Isolo General Hospital for over three weeks.
He said: “I’m tired! Every doctor I’m assigned to, tells me to go for a test. I have been pushed from one doctor to another, with each recommending tests. I have spent over N100,000 on laboratory tests and drugs within three weeks in the hospital and yet my health is not improving.”
On June 24, our reporter was at the Gbagada General Hospital. He was refused an outpatient card because he got there by noon. The following day, he returned to the hospital. He got there by 9a.m., but again, workers at the Record Section refused to give him a card.
He was told that to see a doctor, he should be at the hospital between 5a.m. and 7a.m.
He was also told the hospital has a certain number of patients it attends to every day. Our reporter and other patients were asked to go to any nearby health centre.
A source at the hospital said: “Patients rushed to the Emergency Unit here are dying on a daily basis because they are not allowed into the hospital. They leave them outside after checking their vital signs. When they are rushed into the premises, they stop them right there and subject them to a series of questions. They leave them there for hours. Many of them are referral cases. They die outside there, waiting for doctors to attend to them.”
On that particular day, a lady, who was rushed to the Emergency Unit the previous evening, died outside. But pregnant women and children were being attended to.
 |
| Apapa General Hospital |
Our ordeal in public hospitals – Patients
It’s been over 40 days since Tope Asoroda was buried, leaving behind his wife, Oluwakemi and four children. Oluwakemi still appears to be shell shocked over his demise. Her eyes are puffy and red from crying. The mood in the house is mournful. She ignores the pleas of surrounding sympathisers.
Tope died at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and the drama leading to his death is still fresh in the memories of his friends and family members.
Family members blamed LASUTH for his death. According to them, Tope had a stroke, but rather than commence immediate treatment to save his life, doctors tagged his file COVID-19 and went further to place him at an isolation centre at the hospital. He died the following day.
The widow refused to speak as she wept into a soaked handkerchief. She beckoned on Daniel, her 15-year-old son, to tell our reporter how his father died.
Daniel said: “My father woke up and complained that one of his eyes was hurting him. He also said he couldn’t smell. We took him to a private hospital, but after three days, the hospital referred him to LASUTH. He was not attended to until after several hours. The doctor wrote COVID-19 on his file. He died the following day.”
Tope’s friends want to know why his file was tagged COVID-19, when no test was carried out.
Some of them argued that if Tope truly died of COVID-19, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) would have visited his home and neighbours to quarantine them. They also said the referring hospital would have been shut down.
Tope’s friend, Mr. Dayo, who was among those who took him to LASUTH, described his death as a waste.
He recalled the deceased’s last journey. “On 30th of April, we were in the office, when he said he was not feeling well. He called after a day or two to say that he had a stroke. I told him that was not how strokes used to attack people. But before then, he had had issues of Diabetes and High Blood Pressure (BP).”
According to Dayo, Oluwakemi later called to say Tope’s health had not improved. Friends contributed money and moved him to a private hospital.
Dayo narrated: “When I saw him at the hospital, I didn’t like his condition. One of his eyes and head were swollen, and his mouth was tilted to the other side of his face. It was obviously a stroke, though the CT scan showed nothing. The doctor referred us to LASUTH to see a neurosurgeon, saying it could be a tumour. We got there at 11a.m., but doctors didn’t attend to him until 8p.m.
They said there was no bed space. They only attended to him after a phone call from the information minister. One of the doctors said they should take him to the stroke ward, another came to take his temperature. His temperature was high and the doctor started asking questions relating to COVID-19. I told him that Tope had a stroke and urged him to look at his medical history from the referring hospital. Tope had been inside my car for hours, inside the sun, what did the doctor expect his temperature to be? After dilly-dallying, they took him to the isolation centre there. He was the only one there. The last thing I saw before I rushed to my office was someone bringing oxygen.
He had never had a breathing difficulty; I still don’t understand why he was put on oxygen. He was put at the isolation centre and abandoned. He died because he was not given medical attention on time!”
The allegation, that some public hospitals deliberately label patients’ files with a ‘COVID-19’ tag, without requisite evidence, is fast gaining ground and as such, many patients have refused to attend public health care facilities. In addition, patients also allege that since the COVID-19 outbreak, medical personnel in public hospitals prefer to focus on those infected by the pandemic, while those with terminal illnesses are said to have been forgotten and abandoned.
Our investigation revealed that since the outbreak of COVID-19, there are rising cases of preventable deaths and health complications, due to the sudden negligence of other healthcare segments. With over 90 per cent of government’s finances and human resources focused on COVID-19, less attention on other health needs seems to be triggering depreciation in Routine Health (RH) services, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH) services, Family Planning (FP) services and Routine Immunisation (RI) services. Also, progress made against Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as malaria, polio, cancers, diabetes, and hypertension has been disrupted.
Eve, who went to the Warri Central Hospital in Delta State, to complain of toothache, after her bizarre experience, she called the COVID-19 pandemic and NCDC a scam. She said: “When I got there, they asked me if I had just returned from overseas, if I had a fever, was coughing or had difficulty breathing. I told them I only had a dental problem. They gave me a form, written ‘no travel’ and ‘COVID-19 patient discharged.’ I regretted not snapping the form with my phone. When I got to the Dental Section they collected the form from me and asked me to return in a month’s time. In fact, they asked everyone who came to the hospital that day to come back in a month’s time.”
Similarly, a publisher, Mr. Dipo Kehinde, said that last week, he took his daughter to Massey Hospital on Lagos Island, after she started having issues with her voice.
He said: “We were asked to do a series of tests. We did one at Foremost Radiology Consultants Limited in Surulere for N65,000. Within two days N100,000 was gone. We were also referred to the Lagos Island General Hospital to ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) Section. That one was for N25,000. But when we got there, they said the machine will not work until after COVID-19. Do they know when COVID-19 will end? Now, we have all those expensive test results, but we can’t see a doctor until we do the ENT. Luckily, two days ago, my daughter got her voice back. I started thinking: What if it has been a life-threatening ailment? There is trouble out there really! This is not the time for anybody to fall sick.”
Adanma, who uses the Air Force Base Hospital, at Ikeja, equally laments: “Every other ward, except for the General Outpatient Department (GOPD), has been shut down till after COVID-19. Before you see a doctor, you’ll do a test to confirm that your sense of taste and smell are all right. As we speak, I cannot see any consultant because of COVID-19. I have a particular health issue that I have been managing, through the help of a consultant, but now, no consultants are seeing patients. Even when you go for normal treatment, you’ll be made to go through COVID-19 screening. I had to fill a form before I could be allowed to go into the hospital. I was negative to all the questions posed. All these sections, Gynaecology, Paediatrics, MOPD, Cardiology, Orthopaedics, Eye and Dentist, have been shut down till after COVID-19.”
Mr. Sunday Ojeme’s complaint is more puzzling. He was feeling sickly, experiencing symptoms of malaria and ran to the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Health Centre at Egbeda,
for COVID-19 test.
He said: “I was asked a series of questions and my responses were written down. They also asked for my home address and phone number. They asked me to spit out and collected samples from my throat and nostrils. They promised to get back to me after a week. It’s been over six weeks now and I’ve not heard from them. I had to seek assistance from a nurse, who placed me on drip and injections. I’m fine now, but still waiting to hear from NCDC. Even if I’m negative, the right thing should have been to notify me.”
Sceptical Nigerians claim that increasing the number of supposed COVID-19 cases is a way to justify the money being pumped by the Federal Government to contain the pandemic, which they allege is being diverted.
This was corroborated by Blessing, who was present during a sensitisation exercise held for Kubwa Market women, in Abuja. Responding to the group of concerned individuals who were advising on the need to use face masks and maintain good hygiene, she said, “There is no coronavirus! Go to hospitals and tell them to stop rejecting patients. My neighbour, who suffers from asthma, almost died. He had a serious crisis and was rushed to the hospital. He was rejected and the doctors told the family to contact NCDC. If not for God, he would have died.”
Marian Imole was also rejected at the General Hospital Kubwa, as only a limited number of patients were allowed access to doctors.
She said: “I’ve been here since past 7a.m. After workers at Records Section came, they attended to a few patients and asked the rest of us to go home and come back tomorrow. Will I be here to pass through this stress if I am not sick and need to see a doctor? I was here two weeks ago because I was down with typhoid. When I came to see the doctor, he told me that the hospital management team had decided that patients would not be treated. I had no choice but to go to one of the pharmacies around town to get drugs. I came back today because I’m still not feeling well. Asking me to come back tomorrow is really annoying.”
Prompt and decisive steps saved the life of Mrs. Chris Anyanwu. “My wife was pregnant with our first child and suddenly started bleeding. She was rushed to the hospital, but nurses refused to attend to us. We also met a crowd of people shouting and crying that doctors should attend to them. We had to take her to a private clinic. She was immediately operated upon, but we lost the baby two days later. I’m glad I didn’t waste time at the General Hospital after we were rejected. It would have ended in tragedy,” her husband said.
A medical official working with the Ikorodu General Hospital admitted that COVID-19 forms were given to patients, as directed by the state government, adding that during this period of the pandemic, patients should also be treated free of medical charges. The source later revealed that although all medical case files were tagged ‘COVID-19’, to indicate that the person was treated free, it did not mean that the patient was necessarily a COVID-19 patient.
Undercover visits to some public hospitals
Our crew decided to visit some public hospitals to ascertain the truth of these allegations.
On June 15, our undercover ‘patient’ visited LASUTH, but was told it was on strike. On June 25, our patient returned to the hospital. He got there by 11a.m., but the hospital refused to give him an outpatient card. The hospital said it only attends to emergencies and he was advised to go to another General Hospital.
He said: “Many patients were at the Emergency Unit, brought by friends and family members in cars. Many of them came with referral letters but they were not allowed into the hospital building. A red tape demarcated areas where patients were allowed access. Some of the emergency patients, after waiting for hours, left in anger. The medical workers said there was no bed space and not enough doctors. Nurses came out repeatedly to warn tired patients to be extremely careful, that the rate of those being infected at LASUTH was very high. Some of the patients were seen making frantic calls to people they know, working in the hospital to come and fast-track things for them. A woman, who said that her husband needed urgent surgery, had been waiting to see a doctor at the surgery Emergency Unit since 7a.m. When she spoke with me, it was past 2p.m. There was no doctor to attend to her husband, despite his referral letter. Doctors and nurses are scared because of COVID-19 that is why they abandon emergency patients for hours, causing many deaths.”
On June 16, we visited the Igando General Hospital and collected an outpatient card for N500. Toll numbers were given on a first come basis. Our reporter’s number was Batch 3, number 7. Nurses and doctors were heard complaining that their colleagues were being infected by the virus. The hospital started attending to patients by 9:30a.m. A nurse first came out to address the patients, asking them to observe social distance and fill a form. She also told them that if their ailments were not severe, they should state their health issue and the doctor would tell them what to do.
On June 20, our reporter went incognito to Warri Central Hospital, Delta State, to complain of severe chest pain. He paid N500 for his outpatient card.
He was referred to an office, where he was asked to wait for the doctor.
He said: “When I was called, the doctor started asking me questions related to COVID-19. He asked if I had a cough or respiratory challenges. As he was talking, he wanted to start filling a form, but I told him that I didn’t come to the hospital because I had COVID-19. I told him that in spite of my chest pain, I could still fill a form. The doctor said that I should respond to his questions, so that he would know how to handle my case. I repeated that I had chest pain. He refused to give me the form to fill and called a nurse to walk me out.”
Our reporter went round the hospital to investigate further and learnt that most patients have allegedly stopped going to the hospital because of the COVID-19 forms.
He added: “I also learnt that before, they used to give the forms to patients, but when it started generating problems, doctors started to fill them on behalf of the patients. I also learnt that if you have symptoms of COVID-19, they take the person to the isolation centre.”
On June 22, we went to Apapa General Hospital. It was raining. Things were different because of COVID-19. Before, patients were allowed into the hospital building to be attended to by nurses and doctors. But on that particular day, patients were kept outside, under a canopy, inside the rain. The hospital, which used to be full of patients, had fewer patients. Before attending to our reporter, he was asked questions relating to COVID-19 symptoms.
On June 23, our reporter went to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Mushin and Isolo General Hospital, and discovered that due to COVID-19, there was a 100 per cent increase in service fees, drugs and lab tests. These are hospitals primarily established to attend to the healthcare of the poor masses.
Also on June 23, another reporter went to the Diette Koki Memorial Hospital, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, posing as a patient. It was discovered that the virus has also affected the number of patients doctors see on a daily basis.
An official told the ‘supposed patient’ that the hospital has a certain number of patients it attends to everyday and that the reporter came late. This was even though she got there by 8a.m. The nurse snapped: “You want to see a doctor at this time, come back tomorrow! We have exceeded our number for today. You can come back tomorrow. If you are not able to be among the 50 people for the day, the doctor will not see you. Before 7:30a.m. every day, the 50 patients are complete. If you come here by 8a.m., you won’t be seen by any doctor. If you are here for an emergency, you go to the Emergency Unit. We are doing this because of coronavirus.”
At the Isolo General Hospital, Lagos, the outpatient appointment card which used to be N500, is now N1,000. However, patients were attended to.
At LUTH, patients were told to wait outside for a doctor to ascertain the nature of the health complaint, before entry is allowed into the hospital. The hospital said it wouldn’t attend to any case, unless it was an emergency. Our reporter was also attended to outside, with a doctor asking a series of questions. Satisfied our reporter didn’t have COVID-19 symptoms, he was asked to go to the Records Section, which was on the third floor. However, the Record Section, where outpatient cards are usually given, was locked. A nurse said the hospital only attended to sick staff members. The nurse added: “We’re not attending to patients. You can come back in the first week of July. We’re following management’s directives. We can’t attend to anyone until further notice.”
A frustrated patient, Mr. Nelson, who our reporter met at the hospital, fumed: “I was referred to LUTH because of my heart problem. Must I have symptoms of COVID-19 before doctors will attend to me? It’s unfortunate that nothing ever works in this country.”
Another patient, Mr. Kenneth Dike, at Isolo General Hospital, who thought he was speaking with a fellow patient, lamented: “I’ve spent more than I expected because I believed it would be cheaper in a government hospital compared to a private one. We now pay through our noses in government hospitals.”
Mr. Akpan, a patient with liver problems, said he had been coming to the Isolo General Hospital for over three weeks.
He said: “I’m tired! Every doctor I’m assigned to, tells me to go for a test. I have been pushed from one doctor to another, with each recommending tests. I have spent over N100,000 on laboratory tests and drugs within three weeks in the hospital and yet my health is not improving.”
On June 24, our reporter was at the Gbagada General Hospital. He was refused an outpatient card because he got there by noon. The following day, he returned to the hospital. He got there by 9a.m., but again, workers at the Record Section refused to give him a card.
He was told that to see a doctor, he should be at the hospital between 5a.m. and 7a.m.
He was also told the hospital has a certain number of patients it attends to every day. Our reporter and other patients were asked to go to any nearby health centre.
A source at the hospital said: “Patients rushed to the Emergency Unit here are dying on a daily basis because they are not allowed into the hospital. They leave them outside after checking their vital signs. When they are rushed into the premises, they stop them right there and subject them to a series of questions. They leave them there for hours. Many of them are referral cases. They die outside there, waiting for doctors to attend to them.”
On that particular day, a lady, who was rushed to the Emergency Unit the previous evening, died outside. But pregnant women and children were being attended to.
Monday, July 27, 2020
Clerics, parents, police boost rape, child abuse –Advocate (2)
The secretary and operations manager
Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network (ACVPN), Mr. Ebenezer
Omejalile, tells JULIANA FRANCIS solutions to rape in Nigeria.
 |
| Ebenezer Omejalile |
There’s another trending case now. A
pastor told a man that anyone who marries his daughter would become prosperous;
he now decided to be sleeping with his daughter. He wants to be the first to
violate the girl so he would become prosperous. The girl’s mother is late. The
girl ran away from home, to somewhere at OPIC, where she is looking for job and
started living among vulcanizers. The guy that called us was worried that the
girl could be violated at the place she ran to for solace. I spoke with her on
the phone and she said that she was fine. We just need to take her away from
that environment. These are some of the issues we are talking about. It is a
systemic issue. The gatekeeper, who is supposed to speak out, is also an
accomplice. Law enforcement officials are also trying to make things difficult.
Their job should be done and done professionally. There shouldn’t be sentiment.
There's a need to understand what the survivor is going through.
SOUTHERN KADUNA KILLINGS: IGP ORDERS FULL ENFORCEMENT OF CURFEW
 |
| Adamu |
Dad started sleeping with me after mum's death -GO's daughter
…'he says I mustn't date anyone else'
Juliana Francis
 |
| Pastor Oyebola |
On June 15, 24-year-old Blessing (real name withheld) walked into the office of Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network (ACVPN), located at the Oshodi area of Lagos, to tell the horrid story of how her father had been violating her for years.
Blessing’s mother died when she was 19 years old, leaving three children for her husband, Pastor Oluwafemi Oyebola, to cater for.
The pastor, who is the general overseer of four churches in Ogun State, converted Blessing, his oldest daughter, to his ‘wife.’
He got her pregnant thrice and carried out abortions thrice with the assistance of a matron at a general hospital in the state. The COVID-19 lockdown ensured Blessing, her father and siblings were cooped up at home.
Blessing’s siblings got used to hearing her cry in their dad’s room, but she couldn’t tell them her ordeal. When she finally summoned the courage to say no to her dad, he allegedly took to beating her.
Blessing ran away from home to stay with a friend in Lagos.
She said: “I came forward to tell my story and report my dad because my younger sister and brother are all alone with him. I don’t want him to start sleeping with my sister. He told me I was his wife. He said I must not date anyone. I don’t have friends because he disapproves of everyone he sees with me.”
Blessing recollected that in 2015, her mom, a midwife, took ill, had a partial stroke and spent two weeks in hospital. She said that her father started coming onto her when her mom was ill.
She said: “He would call me every time that he needed my help. I used to be free with him. He’s my father after all. Then he started asking me to sit close to him. I was 19 years old then. He used to say my mom was ill and no one was available to take care of him. He would ask me to hug him. He made so many moves that he scared me.
"I used to assist him to shave and clipped his nails. I was clipping his nails one day when he told me that he would take that virginity which I was so proud of. I complained to his friend, but he didn’t believe me.
"My father took me as his wife. He made me promise not to date anyone. Whenever I was going out, he would tell me not to forget that I left my husband at home.”
Blessing added that there was a time she refused to go home, stayed in school but Oyebola came looking for her. She told people that he was not her father, that she didn’t know him. Oyebola, however, convinced people that he was her father by producing pictures.
Everyone in school turned against her for denying her father, but they didn’t know what she was fighting against.
She said: “When I got pregnant, he took me to hospital, where an abortion was carried out for me. He told the hospital I was not his daughter. Two of the abortions were done at Idiroko General Hospital by a woman called Mummy Ola. She’s a matron. The third abortion was at a private hospital. My father told her I was his wife’s apprentice. When I was asked if he was my father, I couldn’t respond. I just cried.
"Sometimes, he would have sex with me four times a day. My father has carried out three abortions for me before placing me on a Family Planning. I used to sleep in his room, but then I refused to sleep in his room. He came to my room to flog me.”
Blessing said that when she left for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), she made up her mind never to allow him to touch her anymore. But sadly after her NYSC, her father continued to abuse her.
She disclosed that during the service year, she became withdrawn, but a lady got close to her. She soon narrated her ordeal to her new friend, who linked her with a human rights lawyer. “But I withdrew from pursuing the case. He’s my father. If he was arrested, how would I and my siblings manage?” she added.
But after the COVID-19 lockdown was lifted, Blessing ran away from home, to Lagos State, to stay with a friend.
Blessing said she had cursed her father on the first day he raped her. “I cursed him with my virginity blood. I told him it would never be well with him. I believe my curse had an effect because thereafter his pastors in his churches started stealing from him,” she said.
Following Blessing’s report, members of ACVPN swung into action and made sure the 44-year-old Oyebola was arrested.
Also arrested is an assistant matron, Mrs. Monilola Ogundimu, accused of assisting the pastor to procure family planning care for Blessing.
While the police claimed Oyebola aborted thrice for his daughter, he admitted doing so only twice. He remembered it was between 2017 and 2018, before Blessing went for her NYSC in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.
Oyebola said “it was the devil” who made him take to violating his daughter. “I can’t fathom why I engaged in sexual intercourse with my daughter. Having sex with my daughter was not intentional,” he said.
While denying the allegation that he started having sex with her in 2015, Oyebola insisted that the incest started in 2017.
He added: “It was not three times I carried out abortions for her. When I realised I had been consumed by the devil’s arrow, I immediately stopped. I’ve asked my daughter for forgiveness. I was hit by the devil’s arrow targeted at me by my enemies. I could not fathom how I began having sex with my own daughter. It’s a shameful act. But unlike what was reported in the media, I began to have sex with her in 2017 and not 2015 as claimed by the police. Also, the abortion I did for her was just once, not thrice.
“I never had sexual intercourse with my daughter till 2020. I got married to a new wife after the death of my first wife. While my daughter was still on NYSC, I told her I got married and she was happy for me. The misunderstanding between my daughter and I was because of domestic responsibility after her service year. She had insisted on going back to Port Harcourt in search of a job while I asked her to stay back and take care of her other siblings. This didn’t go down well with her and she vowed to expose the secret. I’m married, I cannot monitor two houses and she said no. That is the only thing that caused problems between my daughter and I. I beat her as a father and she vowed to tarnish my image and expose what we did together in 2017 and 2018. I said no problem and she ran away from the house. Other information reported was a lie!”
Oyebola also said procuring abortions for Blessing was was another great mistake.
"The mistake came up in November ending, 2017 and that mistake came up again in 2018 before she went for service in July 2018. I didn’t do it willingly but spiritual attack made me do such things and real Christians will understand what I meant. I regret my actions and I have sought forgiveness from my daughter.
"She has also forgiven me as she came to plead with the Commissioner of Police on my behalf. I want to sincerely beg for forgiveness from Nigerians; my action was unheard of. I seriously regret it.
“I have sinned against God and I have disappointed many Nigerians and many Christians. I pray for God’s forgiveness and I beg all Nigerians that usually pray to pray that God forgives me.”
The nurse, Ogundimu, who introduced herself as an Assistant Matron and Head, Family Planning Unit, Idiroko General Hospital, Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, explained that she assisted Blessing to start a family planning method as instructed by Oyebola, who introduced himself as Mr. James to her.
She said: “Until my arrest, I never knew James is the biological father of the girl. He told me that the girl was his housemaid.”
The Secretary and Operations Manager, ACVPN, Mr. Ebenezer Omejalile, said Oyebola is a pastor of Christ Apostolic Church domiciled in Owode, Ogun State.
He added: "This man turned his first daughter into a sex slave for five years and carried out three abortions, with one leading to severe complications. Two of the abortions were carried out right inside Idiroko General Hospital by a matron known as Matron Ogundimu aka Iya Ayo.
"The matron was also responsible for the family planning which would expire next year. A private hospital, suspected to be a convalescent centre, conducted the third abortion. The worst part of the story is that this pastor is a member of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) in Owode Ogun State, well known by so many people. Oyebola’s church occupies two plots of land in Owode, Ogun State.
"ACVPN has been on his trail for close to a month until July 6, 2020. After due consultations with key stakeholders, he was arrested alongside the doctor of the private hospital and the matron.”
Woman defrauds investors N15m, uses N139m on sports betting, N1m for tithes
Juliana Francis
A woman, Nkechi Mercy Ikogwe and her
companies, Elites Finance Investment Limited and Efinc Global Investment
Limited, were on Monday arraigned for using N139million of investors’ money on
Sports betting and Spent another N1millon on payment of church tithes.
IG orders investigation on video showing policemen terrorising lady
Juliana Francis
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu,
has ordered investigation into a viral video, which shows Operatives of the
Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), terrorising and humiliating a lady, found in
the home of a suspected armed robber in the Apata area of Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to a statement signed by the Force
spokesman, Frank Mba, the IGP has ordered investigations into the circumstances
surrounding the dehumanising treatment meted out to the female victim in the
video.
In the video, which was mostly in Yoruba, SARS Operatives
went to arrest a suspected armed robber in his house and met the victim with
the suspect. The victim had just completed her NYSC, after graduating from the University
of Ibadan.
According to the girl, she met the guy the day she
came to collect her NYSC certificate and while getting to know each other, the
guy told her that he works in Lagos State, where he produces soft drinks. The
victim further explained that she and the suspect were not lovers that he told
her he wanted to buy some of the shoes she sells.
She further explained that it was her first time visiting the suspect and that she only came after he pleaded with her to come
and cook for him.
Thereafter, the policeman rolling the camera asked
about her last boyfriend and why she left him. He also asked her if she left
her former boyfriend, so that she could become a lover to a robber.
The girl was further asked when she was deflowered
and who deflowered her. But before subjecting her to the barrage of questions,
the policemen had already seized her phone.
In the video, one of the policemen knocked down the
handcuffed lady and screamed a torrent of questions at her. She fell down, stood
and was shaking in fright. The policeman further threatened to punch her if she
didn’t respond on time to his question. He then called her a prostitute.
The video has attracted condemnation from different
quarters, compelling the IGP to launch an investigation.
Mba said: “The IGP, while condemning the act, has
directed the commencement of comprehensive investigations aimed at unravelling
the true identity of the perpetrators with a view to bringing them to justice.
Members are hereby assured that any member of the Force found culpable in the
incident will be made to face appropriate sanctions.”
Man dehumanising lady in viral video, not a policeman
Juliana Francis
The supposed policeman, who video recorded and
humiliated a lady during the arrest of a robbery suspect in Ibadan, Oyo State,
is not a policeman, disclosed a senior police source.
Suspect: We kidnapped our Chinese boss for short paying, sacking us
Juliana Francis
 |
| The suspects |
A 34-year-old vulcaniser, Jayeola Adelekan, working
with Xinxin Energy Limited, located at the Odogbolu area of Ogun State, has
revealed that he and six other men organised the abduction of his 65-year-old Chinese
boss because he was fond of short paying and sacking Nigerians.
Adelekan was arrested along with six others,
identified as Adetayo Adeniran, Hammed Jabiri, Animashaun Mustapa,
Akeem Lawal, Moruf Razaq and Yinka Jayeola.
The suspects were hunted and arrested after they
kidnapped the 65 years old Defa Song and carried him to an unknown destination.
They were arrested by Operatives of the Force
Intelligence Responses Team, IRT, headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police
(DCP), Abba Kyari.
A few days after Defa’s abduction, his kidnappers asked
for N50million ransom. His daughter, Hongli Song, the owner of the company, petitioned
the Inspector-General of Police, Adamu Mohammed about her father’s abduction.
The IGP had immediately ordered IRT, to launch a
manhunt for the suspects and rescue the Chinese national. The Ogun State, annex
of the IRT, were deployed and some few weeks into their investigations, Adelekan
was arrested.
Adelekan confessed that he and others, working in
the company, including a guard, organised the abduction of Defa.
However, the old man fell sick while in captivity
and died. After Defa died, the kidnappers stuffed him into a drum and gave the
drum to fishermen to get rid of. Adelakan was used as bait to catch other
members of the group.
The Police said:
“According to the suspects, after Defa started working for his daughter,
he started short paying and sacking workers over any imagined error. After
abducting him, they kept him in a house where they fed him with soft drinks and
sausage rolls. Four days after his
abduction, he attempted to escape, but was caught and tied up. He fell sick and
died. Three, among the suspects called Moses and Adelekan, who came with a drum
in a car and stuffed Defa’s remains into the drum. They then tied the drum with
chains. They moved the drum to a river bank and handed it to fishermen.”
Adelekan, who is married with two children, a
primary school dropout, started working in Xinxin Energy Company in 2019 as a
mechanic.
The suspect’s salary was N60, 000. He had worked
there for three months before Defa came from China and joined the company. Defa’s
first major operation after joining the company was to sack Adelekan.
Adelekan recalled: “He sacked me because I bought a
vehicle with my hard earned salary. I was sacked and converted to a contract
worker. One of the company’s guards, Israel, suggested we should kidnap the old
man, that his daughter would pay a lot of money for his release. I called my
younger brother, Hammed Jabiri, who also worked in the company and informed him
about the plan. He bought the idea and invited Moses because he had some guns. In
October 2019, we held a meeting and fine-tuned our plan. On February16, 2020,
someone brought a Corolla car to me to fix. I felt it was a good opportunity to
use the car for the operation.”
The suspect further narrated: “After fixing the car,
I called my friends, Adetayo Adeniran, Dele and Hammed. We got information from
the guard that Defa had stepped out of his house. We went after him and
kidnapped him. We first took him to a bush close to my workshop, but Moses and
Ganiu advised we move him elsewhere. We took him to the home of Morufu. Adetayo
started talking to the man’s daughter. He demanded N50million as ransom, but
while we were still negotiating, I got a call from those guarding Defa, that he
was dead.
“Moses, who got there before me, asked me to come
with a drum. They put his corpse in a sack and stuffed it into the drum. I was
asked to drive to a river bank, where some fishermen were called to take the
drum away in a boat. Moses was the only person that followed the fishermen to
where the drum was dumped.”
Another suspect, Jabiri, who is married with three
children, said a balm (Aboniki) was rubbed into the eyes of Defa immediately after he
was abducted.
He said; “I’m an auto electrician and work with
Xinxin Energy Company. In October 2019, Adelekan suggested we should abduct
Defa, that Hongli, who owns the company, would pay a heavy ransom to get her
father back. We couldn’t kidnap the man at that time because we had no operational
vehicle. When Adelekan called and informed me about a car being available, I
called my friend, Moses, who is a member of Aye confraternity. On the fateful day,
the guard, who was our informant, called and we went and abducted Defa. I rubbed
Aboniki into his eyes. Moses was even
the person that organised where we kept him.
While waiting for the man’s daughter to pay the ransom, I removed my mask
and he recognised me as one of those working for his daughter. I told the guard who brought the job about it
and he suggested I should kill him after I had collected the ransom. Unfortunately,
the man died before the ransom was paid.”
Adediran on his part said he only joined in the
abduction because he needed money to start a business.
His words: “It was my friend, who got me into this
trouble. I went to beg him to help me
with a job in the Chinese company he was working for. He suggested I join in the
abduction of the Chinese man. I was the person that drove the Toyota Corolla car
on the day of the operation. I was hoping to use my share of the money to set
up a business and start a new life. I was the person who called the owner of
the company to demand for the ransom.”
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