Building Collapse: Group seeks Lagos governor’s intervention for 13-year-old victim

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the Lagos State Government to take responsibility for the 13-year-old victim of the collapsed mosque in Mushin.

The victim, Naeemat Lasisi, has since been on admission at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.

The group accused the hospital management of attempting to discharge the patient “prematurely,” and also alleged that its member who visited the patient and attempted to interview her was harassed.

Ms Lasisi underwent double amputation in the hospital, based on the complexity of the injury sustained.

In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Ishaq Akintola, the group appealed to the government to intervene in the matter by picking up the medical care of the patient and sponsoring her education to the tertiary level.

But the hospital has denied the allegation, saying the treatment of the patient has been at no cost to her parents, and that there was no plan to discharge her “prematurely.”

Alleged harassment

MURIC, in the statement, said its member who attempted to interview the 13-year-old was “harassed” and that efforts to seek the intervention of the Lagos State Government on the matter have yielded no positive result.

“An attempt made to interview the victim and her two parents on Friday, 5th July 2024 led to the harassment of Mr Abdul Fatah Abiodun Lawal, the Media Assistant to MURIC’s Executive Director, within the premises of the hospital,” the statement reads.

“His phone and identity card were seized while he was detained by the hospital authorities for more than two hours.

“The parents stood by the MURIC official and insisted that he should be released because they were the ones who actually invited him to cover the interview.”

MURIC claimed that the hospital authorities deleted the video clip of the interview recorded by Mr Lawal before releasing his telephone and identity card.

The group also accused the nurses in the ward of telling the patient’s mother to take her daughter away from the hospital because she had been ‘discharged’.

He said that the parents were threatened because of their “refusal to support the manipulation of a so-called press interview.”

“We denounce the attempt by the hospital authorities to organise a manipulated interview where the underaged girl patient was expected to respond to questions only ‘as earlier instructed,’” the statement said.

“What the hospital authorities do not know is that apart from the video clip which they forcefully deleted from the telephone of the MURIC official, we have another audio clip which confirms attempted manipulation.

MURIC, therefore, appealed to the government to intervene and ensure that the victim receives adequate medical support “including assurances of government’s sponsorship up to university level.”

“In conclusion and in view of the biased position of LASUTH authorities, we appeal to the Executive Governor of Lagos State, the Commissioner for Health, and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, to intervene on behalf of the poor little girl,” the statement further reads.

Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. (LASUTH)

LASUTH reacts

LASUTH management in a statement via its X handle said “allegation that we are “threatening” to discharge the patient prematurely is unfounded.”

The hospital noted that the young patient was treated at no cost to the parents.

Responding to the claims of harassment of the MURIC member, the hospital said “We do not allow videos taken in our wards. This is purely an ethical and private issue.
There are signages all over which clearly state this position.”

The management further said that they are “very disappointed that all the goodwill, compassion, and responsiveness of Mr. Governor, the Honourable Commissioner for Health, and LASUTH Management are being repaid in this manner.”

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Contacted, Gboyega Akosile, the spokesperson for Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor, did not respond.

Backstory

In May, a mosque located on Yusuf Street, Off Ladipo Road, Papa Ajao, collapsed while prayer was ongoing, leaving three dead and seven injured.

Speaking at the site, the Honorary Secretary, Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Lagos chapter, Gbaja-Biamila Mubarak, attributed the collapse to “human error and wrong approach” to road and drainage construction in the area.

He expressed concern over the deployment of a mechanised approach to the construction, saying if the drainage had been executed manually, the mosque would not have been threatened.