… now seeks help from Nigerians
Juliana Francis
The family of Assistant Superintendent of Police
(ASP) Lamidi Mukaila, attached to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Ikeja, Lagos
State Police Command, has appealed to Nigerians to come to the aid of their
father.
Lamidi Mukaila
Three years ago, Mukaila had cardiac arrest, which doctors battled for years to arrest, but by February 2019, the family began to notice something different about his health.
The family initially thought he was suffering from acute malaria due to his high fever, but after he was taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, he was diagnosed with Kidney Failure.
The New Telegraph Newspaper, last year, exclusively reported that after Mukaila was diagnosed of Kidney Failure, his immediate boss, the RSS Commander, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mr. Olatunji Disu, several times, out of his personal money, supported Mukaila’s medical bills and other expenses.
Doctors would later tell Mukaila that to live, he needed at least 12 Million for a Kidney Transplant.
Assisted by Disu, Mukaila was able to access the Lagos State Police Trust Fund. He was given a lifeline of N10million. He had a successful surgery.
Just when everyone thought the troubles were over, Mukaila’s family members are out again, desperately seeking financial assistance.
The wife, Afisat said: “The Lagos State Government gave us 10 Million. When we got to the hospital, where the surgery was to be done, we were told that N10million wouldn’t be enough. The doctors said that he needed to be stabilised for the surgeon. It was only after he had been stabilised that he would be able to undergo the surgery. We spent 4 Million out of the N10 million just to stabilise him. After that, we started the search for a donor. The donor was located by an agent. The agent made three attempts for donors before the third donor’s kidney finally matched. The donor said he would have to collect N3million. But someone stood for us and we paid N1.7million. In fact, the person that assisted us to plead with the donor to collect the initial payment of N1.7million further assisted us in paying the balance of the N3 Million to the donor.”
According to Afisat, the surgery was successful, but Mukaila is now being held as a ‘prisoner’ at the hospital because there’s no money to pay for the balance of their medical bills, so that he could be discharged.
Mukaila has confronted and conquered many bank robbers before he was bowed and defeated by Kidney Failure, reducing him to a beggar.
Indeed, it was because of his outstanding gallantry during a bank robbery operation at the then Oceanic Bank in Victoria Island area of Lagos State, that compelled the former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) to bequeath him with the Award for Gallantry and Service Excellence.
Before Mukaila accessed the N10million support from the Lagos State Government Trust Fund, he had been using his meager salary for his dialysis. Afisat said she had had to borrow N1.5m, which went into Mukaila’s dialysis.
The dialysis was three times a week, at the cost of N50, 000. He also had to go for blood transfusion twice a week. He enlisted into the Nigerian Police Force in 1988.
Afisat explained: “We have a lot of money to balance up. We need to pay for his drugs and other things. This is why I have come to appeal to Nigerians, to take pity on us and assist us with their widows’ mites. They should help us with money, so that we can settle the outstanding medical bills and get him discharged from the hospital. We were even told that he still needs another operation, which will cost N1.4million. The Lagos State Government, through RSS, has assisted us by giving 10 Million so far.”
Afisat said she and her family out of desperation ran to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Odumosu, who gave them N200, 000 from his personal money.
Mukaila’s daughter, Mrs Aishat Oyetunji Hammed, said that her father was moved from Lagos to Zenith Medical Kidney Centre, Abuja.
She said: “My siblings and I were with my dad throughout those trying days in the hospital. It was after we received the 10 Million, that we took him to Zenith Medical Kidney Centre at Abuja. We took him to the hospital in March and by then his health had seriously deteriorated. Just like my mom said, the doctor said because his condition had deteriorated, he needed to be stabilised for at least one month before the surgery.”
Aishat said that for one month, the doctors battled to keep him alive and stabilised him. She said the surgery would have been done earlier after stabilising him, but for the coronavirus.
She recalled: “The doctors said there were things needed to be taken to South Africa or Indian before the surgery could be done. The surgery was scheduled for April, but it couldn’t be held. Just to stabilise him, we spent 4 Million and then we were left with 6 Million. We had to deposit the 6 Million with the hospital. The hospital said that since the money was not complete, they wouldn’t go ahead with the surgery. My mom ran back to the RRS Commander, Disu, to explain things to him. He told her that the N10million was from the state government and that they as Police and RRS really tried before they could get that N10million through the government for us.”
Desperate for financial intervention from anywhere, Aishat went to social media, asking for help for her dad’s surgery. She received a call from a lawyer; who said he was in Abuja.
“The lawyer said there was something he could do to help us,” recollected Aishat.
The lawyer got across to a retired policewoman, who called the hospital and pleaded with them to carry out the operation, that she would try to get the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, that the medical bills would be paid.
Aishat said: “The lawyer told us that he has an aunt, who is a retired Nigerian Police medical doctor. The woman called the hospital management, urging them to go ahead with the surgery that she would contact the IGP to assist with the remaining balance. The Chief Medical Director accepted. The surgery was done and it was successful. We now owe the hospital some money. The actual amount we are to balance now is N5.3million. My dad has been discharged since July 17, 2020, but the hospital wouldn’t allow him to go home because of the money we owe them. Another problem is that, for each day that he spends at the hospital, our debt is increasing because each day is N25, 000. He’s still at the hospital because we can’t meet up with the old payment and we are still incurring new ones. Coupled with all these, doctors said dad still needs another surgery. The actual charge for the first surgery alone is N7.3million, but there were some procedures we had to pay for, to know if the donor’s kidney matched. Each session to know if a donor’s kidney matched was N1.60million. The second donor was the same N1.60 million, but like the first, it didn’t match. It was the third donor that matched. We paid another N1.60 million. All this money just for cross matching alone and they were removed from the 6 Million we deposited. So, right now, what we need is N5.3million to balance the hospital.”
Aishat had earlier posted on social media, while soliciting assistance for her dad’s survival.
She wrote thus: “On the 8th of February, 2009 Sergeant Lamidi Mukaila in charge of a pilot/APC, led a team of RRS and men from the Victoria Island Police Station to perform a dare devil act of bravery and gallantry by chasing after a team of 30 heavily armed seaborne robbery gang who robbed the Oceanic Bank at Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, recovered and returned all the money and arrested the robbers. The above officer, now Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) currently serving in Lagos command under RRS, has Kidney Failure and has been surviving with the aid of dialysis thrice a week and now at the Zenith Medical Center, Gudu, Abuja since March. It cost N45,000 daily to keep him at the hospital, hence we evacuated him to a local guest inn in Apo resettlement center from where he goes for dialysis to save cost. We have sold all he has and incurred debts to sustain him for about two years to this point. We need the help of well-meaning Nigerians, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs), government, religious organisations and corporate bodies to come to our aid in order to save the life of an honest, diligent and brave officer. The Lagos State government has assisted us with the sum of 10 Million out of the required money needed for the surgery. Please help us. We understand the situation in the world is difficult, but no amount is too small.”
Donate to: Acct. No 2117869014. Name : Lamidi Mukaila. Bank : FCMB. The hospital is located at No. 8 Atom Kpera Close, Gudu District, Abuja. The ward manager is Iwuchukwu Chidinma, phone: 08167667674. For enquiries, contact Aishat on 08032066110.
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