[Mhiz Rebecca]

Comic actor, John Okafor popularly known as Mr
Ibu in a recent interview related how he lost his
young son at LUTH and the role played by the staff
of the hospital.
Read the excerpts below;
“The matter was actually between the Paediatric
Department of the hospital and me. It was in 2011.
My wife and our two-year-old son had been
kidnapped. After I paid the ransom demanded and
they were released by the kidnappers, I returned to
Lagos from Enugu.
“Then on January 18, 2011, my son fell ill. He
was diagnosed with inflammation of the liver. The
hospital suggested that he should be scanned. At
the same time, I was informed that I could take my
son out of the hospital to get the scan done
elsewhere. But the same people later declined,
saying that everything had to be done in the
hospital because he was too weak to be taken
outside.
“After a while, I was told that there was no
electricity in the hospital. When I asked if there was
no standby generator, they said there was no fuel
in it. I offered to pay for fuel only to be told that the
man that operated the generator was not around.
When I left the place and got back later, the man
still had not returned. Then I was advised to write
an application and to submit to the admin
department.”
After writing the application, Okafor found that there
was nobody to receive and treat it. While he was
waiting, he was told that his son’s condition
required blood transfusion. The actor did everything
possible to ensure that the ailing boy was given
treatment at the hospital, but his efforts were in
vain. Finally, the little boy gave up the ghost.
“That was how my son died. Later, one of the
doctors came to me and, without even
sympathising with me, asked if I could release my
boy’s corpse to him so that they could cut it open
and use it to teach other medical students. In that
moment, I felt like committing murder for the first
time in my life.
“When I told my lawyer what happened at the
hospital, he was shocked. He said it was
actionable. I told him that I was ready to take the
hospital management to court and sue it for $100
million in damages because my son’s death was
caused by the carelessness of the professionals
whose duty was to save his life. But my lawyer
advised me to let go”.