A doctor at the Awoyaya Hospital and Maternity Centre, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, Dr Emmanuel Okolo is in the eyes of the storm after allegedly brutalising a nurse on duty.
The 35-year-old doctor reportedly beat up Dorcas Adeyera, 23, for admitting an accident victim without his permission on Monday.
He was said to have ordered her to kneel down in his office before dealing out several slaps and flogging her with a belt when she refused.
But the victim reported the incident at the police station after petitioning the medical director of the hospital.
The Punch quoted her as saying in her petition, “Around 2 am, there was an emergency outside the hospital . I stepped out to have a clear look at the patient, who was said to have been involved in an accident and already fractured a bone in his left leg.
“The patient was conscious and alert ; no obvious respiratory distress , but seemed to be in severe pain . I went back inside the hospital to notify the doctor on call , Dr Okolo Emmanuel , and immediately went back to move the patient inside the hospital.
“On getting there, I noticed that my colleague , who is a registered nurse and midwife , had already offered the patient a stretcher and the man ’ s relatives were trying to get the patient on it . Then, I noticed that the patient and his relatives were Hausas, and the people that brought him in a car were just helpers . Immediately they dropped the patient on the stretcher , they zoomed off.
“Back inside the hospital , Dr Okolo, who had been to the emergency room, saw the patient being carried towards him . He suddenly got angry and asked why the nurse didn’ t allow him to see the patient first before bringing him into the hospital . He pointed at me , blaming me for it and said I should get out of his sight , which I did immediately; only for him to get angrier and ordered the patient to be taken out of the hospital as he was not ready to attend to him.”
She added, “ I left for the pharmacy with the hope that the patient’ s relatives will source a means of leaving , only for the doctor to come in a few minutes later and dragged me into his office.
“ I was shocked and tried to remove my hands from his hold; but he was too fierce.
“In his office, he told me to get down on my knees (kneel down ) to which I declined as it was against the ethics of my profession to do that in uniform. He gave me the first hard slap and repeated his order; I refused and called my colleague for help.
“I tried to get out of his office, but he dragged me back and reached for his belt and started flogging me until the security men and my colleague came and tried to hold him . He said I was rude and he was not my age – mate.
“I tried explaining to the security men what had happened , but he did not allow me to speak out. He reached for the sphygmomanometer and was about using it to hit my head when the security men took it from his hand and another round of slaps on my cheeks followed . This time around , I fell on the floor and he started punching me.”
The doctor reportedly refused to comment when he was contacted on the matter, saying he was speaking with his lawyers.
The police at the Elemoro Division, where the case was reported, have also dropped an invitation for him at the hospital, while the Lagos State Police Command has commenced investigation into the matter.