The body of a butcher named Alhaji Saliu was finally released by the management of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Ilorin, Kwara State. Saliu was detained on Wednesday after attacking one of the hospital’s doctors.
According to hospital sources, the deceased person’s body was transferred on Thursday to the deceased person’s relatives for burial.
It is unclear whether one of the deceased’s three children, who was detained by hospital security for allegedly hitting the doctor, has been freed.
One of the dead’s sons was detained on Wednesday for reportedly assaulting a doctor in the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department amid claims that the medical staff’s subpar behavior caused the deceased Alhaji Saliu, a butcher, to pass away.
According to reports, three members of the deceased’s family allegedly assaulted a doctor on Tuesday in the UITH’s Accident and Emergency (A&E) Wing because they believed the medical staff’s carelessness contributed to the death of their relative. The deceased’s name was Alhaji Saliu.
Shortly after the hospital revealed that their cousin, who had blood cancer, had passed away, problems began.
The deceased, who apparently had issues after returning from a business trip, was sent to the facility in a critical condition on Tuesday.
According to Mr. Abdul, a relative of the deceased who confirmed the news, the hospital confiscated the body as a result of an attack on a doctor.
Abdul revealed that Alhaji Saliu was brought to the hospital’s emergency room on Tuesday a little after 5:00 a.m. despite repeated requests for a doctor to attend to him.
“We were surprised to see doctors coming to attend to us several hours later after a medical personnel who saw our plight confirmed he was dead.
“That infuriated the relatives and they reacted by descending on one of the doctors that came. Since then, they have vowed not to release the corpse unless we produce some other people that beat the doctor”, he revealed.
At the time of writing, Mrs. Elizabeth Ajiboye, head of the UITH’s Corporate Affairs Unit, could not be reached.
Following the incident on Wednesday, doctors working under the auspices of the Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (ARD) in the hospital protested the assault and urged the hospital administration against releasing the corpse without apprehending and prosecuting the offenders, according to Mrs. Elizabeth Ajiboye.
Mrs. Ajiboye pleaded with the public to refrain from attacking medical personnel, citing the patient’s late presentation and significant problems.
She said the patient in question was one of such cases presented to the hospital late and with severe complications. Nevertheless, the health workers on duty, especially doctors swung into action but while battling with his life, he convulsed. He was stabilized from that stage, prompting the doctors to take over another case requiring emergency attention.
“Three of the patient’s relatives pounced on one of the doctors on duty, pinned him to the wall, and punched him severally but he managed to escape from them.
“The assault led to the arrest of one of the patient’s relatives by the security operatives attached to the hospital.
Doctors under the aegis of Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (ARD) in the hospital protested the assault and the Management of the hospital against the release of the corpse without arresting and prosecuting the culprits.
“It has now become imperative for the hospital to caution patients and their relations against any form of attack on its health care providers,” the management stated.