A medical doctor, James Negedu, has been remanded in the Lafia prison for the death of a member of the National Youth Service Corps, Pascaline Madueke, in the Lafia area of Nasarawa State.
Madueke, who was a Batch ‘C’ corps member that served in Adogi, Lafia East development area of the state, was said to have lost her life following a surgical operation at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia.
It was learnt that the deceased, who had complained of headache, abdominal pain and malaria, was rushed to a private clinic for treatment, before she was referred to the specialist hospital where she died.
During an interview with our correspondent, Negedu said the deceased’s uncle, one Ndubuisi, brought her to his clinic on January 18, adding that Madueke complained of headache, abdominal pain, typhoid, malaria and general body pain.
The doctor stated that after conducting some tests on her, she was given some drugs.
He noted that when her condition worsened, a scan was carried out which revealed that she had a pelvic inflammatory disease, as well as a five-month-old dead foetus in her womb.
Negedu said, “After the scan was carried out, I discovered that the deceased didn’t tell me that she was pregnant. I referred her to the DASH (Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital) with a note containing the details of the incident.
“She was operated at the gynecology and obstetrics department of the DASH, but she died the following day.”
The doctor, while contesting his detention, stated that he referred the corps member to another hospital because he could no longer manage her.
He said, “The doctor that carried out the operation on her has been moving freely without any arrest and prosecution. Why should I be detained for referring her to a government hospital?”
When contacted, the Nasarawa State NYSC Coordinator, Zainab Isa, said Madueke died after a surgery, adding that she did not know the cause of her death.
She said, “I discovered that she died three days before I was informed about her case. I got to know about the incident through the Anambra State coordinator of the scheme who said that some people came to her office in Anambra and informed her that a corps member who was serving in Nasarawa State had died on January 24, 2019.
“When I visited the hospital to see her remains, they were already decomposing. We contacted her next of kin and the mother said they wanted the body of their daughter for burial. We provided an ambulance and the body was taken to Imo State for burial,” the coordinator said.
Ms Isa stated that the matter was reported to the Department of State Services, Nasarawa State Command, and the Nigeria Police Force, which investigated the incident.
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