Father Withdraws Boy Attacked by Dogs from LASUTH
PUNCH had exclusively reported that the dogs belonging to his parents’ landlord, Stanley Wesley, pursued Omonigbo and his two older brothers, Osemudiamen (7) and Bobby (13). While the brothers escaped by jumping down from the one-storey building, the victim was savagely bitten by the dogs. Togs chewed off his scalp and exposed his skull.
Abraham’s admission at the LASUTH was marred with claims of abandonment and at a point, the
victim’s father, Mr. Odia, said his son’s condition had worsened due to negligence. The hospital management had promised to take better care of Omonigho, adding that the state’s governor, Babatunde Fashola, had instructed that the government should bear all the cost of his treatment.
However, PUNCH Metro gathered on Monday that the victim had been withdrawn from the state’s medical facility and flown abroad for further treatment.
Odia told our PUNCH that the Delta State Government and a non-governmental organisation in Abuja, Global Initiative for Peace, Love and Care, GIPLC, teamed up to make the travel possible.
Odia said:
“He was taken from LASUTH on Friday en route to India for treatment. His mother went with him. They travelled in the evening and they have arrived at the place. LASUTH has done the best it could. He was flown out by the Delta State Government and an NGO.
I followed due process and attempted meeting with the Chief Medical Director, but he was not on seat. I later saw the clinical director who was happy with the news. I met with every one of them one-on-one and they welcomed it.”
When contacted, the national leader of the GIPLC, Nuhu Kwajafa, said the group took interest in Omonigho’s case after reading the report online. He said:
“We saw his case online and contacted his father. We were able to raise an initial sum of N1.5m, which we gave to the family. Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State also came in to help in his travel abroad.”
He added that the treatment would take about a month.
However, the Lagos State Government has said Omonigho’s withdrawal from the Burns and Plastics unit of LASUTH was against medical advice. The Commissioner for Health, Mr. Jide Idris, in a statement on Monday, said the victim’s father was “desperate” and rebuffed all explanations that the boy’s healing was a gradual process.
The statement read in part:
“While conservative wound management was being done in the Burns and Plastic Ward in LASUTH, the Lagos State Government set plans in motion to take Omonigho abroad for further management, where all expenses incurred would be covered by the government. His parents were informed of every step of the process, and had close and continuous contact with the Ministry of Health.
After a thorough search, a suitable hospital was found that would care for the young boy. The chosen facility was the RAK Hospital, Dubai, United Arab Emirate. LASUTH established a communication channel with RAK Hospital and it was determined that Omonigho would require a meshed skin graft coverage of the exposed skull for the next phase of his management.
Governor Babatunde Fashola approved the funds for the management of Omonigho, which includes traveling, feeding and accommodation at the Rak Hospital in Dubai, UAE.”
The commissioner said Omonigho’s father after agreeing to all the travel plans, suddenly announced that he would fly out his son to India. He said efforts to assist in the India trip was rejected by Odia, who insisted that the Delta State Government and the NGO had decided to bear all the cost.
Idris said report from the surgical team responsible for the victim’s treatment showed that the boy’s health might be at risk if his ongoing treatment was interrupted.
“But Odia unfortunately, took the ill-advised step to leave the facility after being thoroughly counseled by the specialist,” he added.
