SAHARA REPORTERS
More than one year after the death of a woman, Mrs Janet Nwaosu, the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu State, has continued to detain the corpse and denied the family access.
SaharaReporters had reported that family of the late Romanus Nwaosu of Amaeta village in Mgbowo, Awgu local government of Enugu State had accused one Dr Chibuoke and a nurse of being responsible for the death of their mother, Mrs Janet at the UNTH on October 18, 2022.
The family had alleged that the said doctor (Chibuoke) and the nurse had injected their mother with a drug that killed her less than five minutes after being injected.
According to the family, the accused health practitioners were not the ones assigned to take care of the deceased at the hospital.
However, a year and a week after, SaharaReporters gathered that the Chief Medical Director University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu, Dr Obinna Onodugo, has continued to seize the deceased body of late Janet and ordered that no member of the family should be allowed to see the corpse for the past one year.
Miss Augustina Nwaosu, daughter of the late Janet, who was taking care of her before the unfortunate death, lamented that instead of showing remorse for the alleged killing of her mother, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Obinna Onodugo, invited the police to arrest her for complaining and demanding justice.
Narrating the event of the last one year and how the CMD had been using police to intimidate her family, Augustina appealed to Nigerians and human rights organisations to come to their aid.
She noted that the former Chairman of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) UNTH, one Dr Jide Uzoigwe had told her family that they would continue to spend their money while the hospital would continue to fund them to frustrate every police investigation in the matter.
Speaking to SaharaReporters on Tuesday, the distressed Augustina said: “On Sunday, the 16th of October, my mother started stooling and vomiting. We took her to UNTH, at about 2:00 p.m.
“After examination she was admitted at about 7:00pm by one Dr Obumneme Emmanuel who also gave some drug prescriptions which we bought at the hospital pharmacy.
“On the following day, immediately another injection was given to her, the doctor left with the nurse. Then, within a few minutes after the injection, my mom started breathing very fast through her mouth. I started shouting, calling them. This is not the way she was breathing because she was awake when that drug was given to her, and she slept off immediately and started breathing through her mouth.
“When I called the attention of the nurse to my mom’s degenerating condition, the nurse said, go and call the doctor, and I ran outside to go and call the doctor, but I couldn’t find her. At the end of the day, my mother died.
“Then, out of anger, I went through the back window and struck the window with a mop stick, and the glass broke. The security then came and asked what is happening? We narrated the story. They now said. We are not going to take the corpse that we have to fix those glasses before we can take my mum away. My uncle said OK. We are going to pay for the window, while you people will revive my sister back to life.”
“They now sent word to the CMD who then called the DPO Ozalla Divisional Police Officer, who then sent his men. Since police took over the matter, the hospital has continued to detain my mother’s corpse, one year after.”
She added, “When the Management of UNTH felt that the officers investigating the matter are not buying their false narrative, the pretended to be seeking for peaceful resolution while the plotted to arrest me again and transferred the matter to force CID Annex.
“At force CID Annex Enugu, the DC instructed for the CMD to be invited to make a statement. Rather than obey this instruction the legal team have shielded him and so the matter has been left without action for the past two months.”
Augustina insisted that her family wants justice for their mother.
