A male medical practitioner suspected to be a Nigerian nurse has been accused of performing fibroid surgery on a businesswoman, leading to her death.
The family of businesswoman, Fatima Isa, is seeking justice following her death at the Felobam Alpha Clinic in the Mafoluku area of Oshodi, Lagos State, Nigeria.
According to Punch, the victim, alongside her sister, Queen, left their hometown in Auchi, Edo State, and travelled down to Lagos for the surgery.
Fatima was admitted at the hospital last Thursday, April 7, and Queen slept over at the hospital.
Queen told the publication that the management of the hospital demanded N190,000 for the surgery, so she left her sister in their care to withdraw the money.
When Queen returned to the hospital, she found that they had wheeled her sister into the theatre without waiting for her to sign a consent form.
Queen said: “When I did not hear from them for four hours, I called one of the nurses to know what’s happening but was told that they were cleaning her up. Around 5pm, the doctor walked out of the hospital and as I asked after my sister, she said she was OK.
“Later, they brought my sister out. But when I saw my sister, she was breathing abnormally. I quickly alerted the doctor and nurses and the person assisting the doctor came and started hitting my sister’s laps.
“When my sister shook her head, the assistant doctor said she was OK, simply because she shook her head. But as he stepped out, she started breathing heavily and all of sudden, she stopped breathing and that was how she died.
“I quickly called the doctors and nurses again. When they rushed in, they said I should go out, but I refused. I started shouting and crying. I called one of my sisters, Kate, and she came around 8pm. We both slept where Fatima’s corpse was dumped in the hospital.
“The doctors and nurses just abandoned us there. Early in the morning, I called my sister in Asaba, who told us to call our cousin, Momoh, who was in Lagos. We want the government to help us get justice for what they did to my sister. We heard the person that operated on my sister is not even a doctor.”
Momoh alleged that the doctor who performed the surgery was an impostor.
She said: “Fatima’s last words while gasping for breath was ‘God have mercy on me.’ When Queen alerted the doctor as she was breathing abnormally, they gave her an injection, but she continued struggling to breathe and died.
“I asked the cause of the cardiac arrest, but the doctor was just speaking like an illiterate and could not even make a complete sentence, and he is running a hospital in Lagos State of all places.
“We asked for her file and they brought out a paper, but there was nothing in the file to indicate that a test was carried out before the surgery. We asked who performed the surgery and we were told one Lawrence, and that he works with LASUTH.
“We collected Lawrence’s phone number, but he didn’t pick his call. We later got to know that he is a nurse and not a doctor. We got the death certificate, which was signed by Lawrence, and reported at a police station in Mafoluku because we want justice.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benjamin Hundeyin, told Punch that two suspects had been arrested in connection with the death of the businesswoman.
He said: “Two people, including the nurse that did the operation, have been arrested. They have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba, for further investigation.”