Chaos erupted at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, Kogi, on Tuesday after an angry mob arrived and assaulted medical staff on duty and damaged property.
According to @k_f2d, an X user who identified himself as a doctor at the hospital, the attack was over the loss of a patient.
Narrating the incident on his X page, the doctor said the enraged mob, which included a political leader, breached the accident and emergency (A&E) ward, aggressively demanding to see the doctors involved in the deceased patient’s care.
My team was called to the A&E to review a new patient. A group of men in kaftan broke through the gate and started demanding for the doctors on duty. Apparently, they lost a patient. And they came for the doctors. One of them, I learnt, is a political leader.
Advertisement— Dr. Currency (@k_f2d) January 23, 2024
“I was looking at them, confused, because I don’t even know the patient in question. Next thing I know, the leader stoned his phones at me. We were just 3 doctors there,” the doctor said.
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“We stood up from there and went inside. They broke into the room where we were, held me and my male colleague, almost tearing our shirts. I was too confused to speak. They were so many. We managed to break away from the A&E and left to another ward.
“These men started destroying things in the A&E, beating any worker they saw, nurses, doctors, security.”
In an attempt to control the situation, the doctor said the hospital’s chief security officer (CSO) confronted the mob with a firearm. However, the weapon was wrestled away, with sporadic shots being fired in the process.
Videos posted on the doctor’s page showed a man dressed in white kaftan struggling with some men clad in black, while medical staff scampered for safety.
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I was able to record this in the midst of the chaos. This is happening at Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja. We are currently still in hiding pic.twitter.com/in3EhKkEFW
— Dr. Currency (@k_f2d) January 23, 2024
The doctor identified the man in white kaftan as the majority leader in the Kogi house of assembly. TheCable could not immediately verify the claim.
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The incident happened amid a labour shortage in the hospital due to a lassa fever outbreak, a scenario which forced doctors to receive prophylaxis because they had been exposed to the disease, according to the doctor.
How much them dey pay me, wey person go come dey beat me on top this nonsense work? I hate it here!!!
Advertisement— Dr. Currency (@k_f2d) January 23, 2024
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