Psychiatric Patients Hold Doctor, Nurses Hostage Over Poor Welfare In Ogun

MICHAEL-AZEEZ OGUNSIJI, Abeokuta

A psychiatric doctor, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, alongside three other nurses on Wednesday, escaped being killed when psychiatric patients at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Aro, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital violently protested the poor treatments they are daily subjected to at the facility.

The violent protest, which took the entire staff of the health facility by surprise, lasted over two hours before police operatives from the Lafenwa Divisional Headquarters intervened and brought the situation under control.

DAILY CHAMPION gathered that the psychiatric patients at the Aro Neuropsychiatric facility were protesting poor feeding, poor sanitary system, as well as absence of alternative electricity each time the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) seizes light at the hospital.

Some relatives of the patients on admission, who spoke with journalists said the matter had been ongoing for a while before some of the partially healed patients resorted to protesting the situation even when it became obvious that management of the health facility would not remedy the situation.

A female relative of one of the patients on admission, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that the least amount being paid by each of the affected patients ranged from N500, 000 to N700, 000 depending on the length of their stay at the facility.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the facility, Joseph Abiola Ajibola told our correspondent that the matter was “just an internal affairs”, which has been redressed and does not worth being reported as news.

As at the time of filling this report; 19: 44 in the evening, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Ogun Command would not pick all her call being put across to her GSM number as she was persistently rejecting calls.

But speaking with journalists after securing the approval of the command’s Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, the Lafenwa Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Enatufe Omoh said only one of the psychiatric doctor was assaulted, as he sustained varying degrees of teeth bites from the protesting on-admission-patients.

Enatufe, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), who spoke with our correspondent at exactly 20: 05, stated further that the protesters had disagreements with their handlers at the health facility having been denied some privileges, which included seeing their relations who would take them home after being discharged from the hospital, as well as not being allowed to freely move around.

The Lafenwa DPO however, denied the death of anybody within the period when the protests lasted.