Relatives Withdraw Patients From Ogun Hospital

Following a robbery attack in the early hours of Sunday, relatives, this morning, besieged the state hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, to withdraw their patients.

Armed robbers numbering seven invaded the Ogun State-owned hospital on Sunday. They attacked the patients on admission, dispossessed them of their valuables including cash and telephone sets.

Speaking with P.M.NEWS, one of the relatives to the patients, Engr. Bola Adekomaya described the robbery attack as barbaric.

He urged the state government to beef up security in all its public institutions.

“This is very surprising. There is nothing again to do than to move my uncle out of this place. It means, out sick relatives are not safe in the hospital. The government should as a matter of urgency do something to curtail this dastardly act. It is barbaric, dehumanising and ungodly,” he said.

Another relative whose mother suffered in the hands of the robbers admitted that the hospital security system is porous and unless something is done fast, the robbers may still find their way back to the hospital.

“Nobody can stop me from taking my mother out of this hospital this morning. They have added more to her problem psychologically.”

Several other people were seen packing the properties of their relatives on admission in a bid to take them out of the hospital.

When our correspondent contacted some of the doctors and nurses in the hospital for comment on the development, they all declined to speak on the matter, saying they had no authority to say anything as the spokesman for the hospital is the only person that can comment on the matter.

As at the time of filing this report, neither the hospital spokesperson nor its Chief Medical Director, Dr. Nosiru Aigoro were available to speak with our correspondent as it was gathered that they were at a meeting somewhere outside the hospital.

P.M.NEWS learnt that when they arrived Sunday, the robbers disarmed the security men at the gate, collected undisclosed amount of money, phones and other vital items from them and also caged them, moved to the cashier’s office, pharmacy department and ransacked them.

The robbers later moved round the wards, collecting money, handsets and other valuables from the patients and their relatives. They invaded the accounts department of the hospital and made away with all the money found there.

The robbers, according to some patients’ relatives who spoke with our correspondent, said that some of them and patients were ordered at gun point to hand over cash and other valuables which include mobile phones to them.

The robbery, operations claimed the life of a patient, an old man identified as Lateef Odeyemi, aged 75, who was said to be on admission for high blood pressure. The shock of the robbery and booming of guns sent him to his grave.

The robbers who operated for about one hour without any security challenge, on completion of their raid, also made away with the hospital gate keys and security chains.

—Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta