By Ovie Okpare
There was a mild drama at the Sapele Central Hospital in Delta State on Wednesday when a man reportedly attacked medical workers and in the process stabbing one of the nurses on duty over the death of his son who was brought to the hospital in a bad health.
The man was said to have gone berserk minutes after medical workers broke the news of his one-year-six-month-old baby’s death hours after the child was rushed to the hospital for medical attention.
The incident was learnt to have occurred at about 4pm on Wednesday.
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The man whose identity could not be verified at the time of filing this report was alleged to have accused the doctors and nurses on duty of being responsible for the death of the child and subsequently vowed that “one of them must die with his son.”
Sources who witnessed the incident told NIGER DELTA TODAY Online that the bereaved father attempted to stab the nurse on her throat but was able dodge the object he was holding thereby stabbing the nurse on her ear.
The suspect was also accused of headbutting and thoroughly beating the nurse on that fateful day.
The suspect was alleged to have also chased one of the doctors on duty in an attempt to stab him but the doctor was able to escape.
One of the sources narrated, “The incident occurred on Wednesday at about 4pm. It was a case of a baby that was brought in with a bad health condition. The Accident & Emergency Unit resuscitated the baby and was admitted into the children ward.
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“The doctors there reviewed the case and commenced medication. Being that the condition was already very bad, may be the father of the baby was expecting a miraculous recovery of the child but the condition deteriorated further and they loss the baby.
“The father of the baby was now angry that the doctors and nurses could not save the life of his son. It’s a one-year-six-month-old baby. He now threatened that anybody that he sees is going to die with the child. So, he saw one of the nurses inside the ward and attacked her.
“He first of all gave the nurse a headbutt and the lady nurse fell on the ground. He started beating her until he brought out an object attempting to stab the nurse on the neck but the lady was able to dodge it and the object landed on the ear and almost cut off the ear.
“The doctor on seeing that was now trying to escape but the father sighting the doctor; he went after the doctor after injuring the nurse. He chased the doctor with a broken bottle. The doctor through the help of crowd that rushed to the scene he was able to escape unhurt.
“When people were shouting over the incident, he quickly rushed back to the children ward and fled with the corpse of the baby. The National Association of Nurses and Midwifery (NANM), the management of Central Hospital Sapele and the Nigeria Medical Association took the matter to the police station.”
The source said the suspect was later arrested by the police operatives from Sapele Area Command.
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When contacted, the State Police spokesperson, DSP Onome Onowakpoyeya, confirmed the arrest of the suspect to NIGER DELTA TODAY Online.
She, however, added that she was not sure the nature of injury the suspect had inflicted on the nurse.
“The man loss his child and went wild and assaulted the nurse. He escaped the corpse of the baby but was later arrested. But the nature of the injury I do not know”, Onowakpoyeya stated.
When also contacted, the Medical Director of Central Hospital Sapele, Dr. Benedict Ogbimi, confirmed the incident, saying that the man has been arrested and charged to court over the incident.
“The suspect has been arrested and the case has been charged to court. He was granted bail on Friday. The case is now in court”, Dr. Ogbimi added.
