- Police arraign medical personnel over negligence
A woman, Mrs. Latifat Aina Habeeb, has cried out for justice over alleged destruction of her womb by a practising medical doctor in Osogbo, capital of Osun State, Dr. Olayode Akangbe, Shakiru, while performing a cesarean section on her.
Latifat also accused the medical personnel, said to be in the employment of the state government, of conniving with her estranged husband, Akeem Adekanye to secretly bury her newly born baby after claiming that the baby died.
Latifat, tailor, said her life had been a mess after the incident which occurred in January, 2022, adding that she had been battling serious health challenges due to the alleged professional errors committed by the doctor during the surgery.
She explained that she sold all her property to cater for her health and that she had yet to finally recover from the alleged damages done to her body by Shakiru.
In an interview with The Point, Latifat said a nurse referred her to Shakiru’s private hospital, Atoke Hospital located at Igbona Area of Osogbo, when she was in labour and that her husband took her to the hospital.
However, she suspected that Shakiru might have altered her womb for ritual purposes because the doctor shaved her pubic hair before dipping his hands in her private part and caused her a lot of pain.
She disclosed that it was until she was moved to the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo before other doctors conducted a series of tests on her and discovered that her womb had been destroyed and she would not be able to conceive again.
“Immediately I was brought to Dr. Shakiru’s hospital, he started shaving my pubic hair. I think he sedated me because I became unconscious as soon as he started it. Although very weak and not so stable, I heard the doctor saying ‘this woman has packed up.’
“To God be the glory, God brought me back to life and it was then I discovered that a caesarian section had been carried out on me. While he was operating me, I fell from the bed and that caused me more pain. He invited another doctor to check me and he told me that they had to redo the operation. The operation was done the second time. After the second doctor left the surgical room, Dr. Shakiru dipped his hand into my private part and ruptured it. After this, I became unconscious again and he again thought I was dead; he asked the doctor to secretly return me to the ward and not tell my relatives that I had died.
“I was in the ward till my relatives came. I opened my eyes but I couldn’t talk. I was terribly weak. When the doctor came to check on me the third day, he was shocked to see me because he thought I was dead. My husband also was not showing care. My husband later came to tell me that my baby died and that the doctor gave it to him to be buried. I was mad at them because they never informed me that my child was dead before they purportedly buried him. Till today, I have not seen my baby.
“I told my people to take me out of the hospital after I spent six days there.
“At the UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital where I was taken to, the doctors invited Shakiru to explain how he carried out the operation but he refused to come. My condition was so terrible that my urine was passing into my stomach and I was smelling because of the odour that was coming out of my body. I sold all my property and my husband abandoned me to my fate,” she lamented.
The Point gathered that, sequel to a petition written to the state Commissioner of Police by Latifat’s counsel, J. P. Jones, Shakiru was arrested by the Police.
The lawyer had demanded the sum of N10 million as damages from Shakiru but the doctor refused to pay and denied destroying his patient’s womb.
Jones claimed that Shakiru conspired with Adekanye to perform a shoddy caesarian section on Latifat, which resulted in the destruction of her womb.
“The Gynecology and Obstetrics Department of UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State issued a Medical Report in respect of our client (Latifat), stating that she was referred from a private hospital, Atoke Hospital, Igbona, Osogbo, Osun State, on account of the breakdown of operation resulting to uterine rupture and intrauterine fetal death on the 11th January, 2022. It was also revealed that she had wound sepsis and dehiscence.
“Human life is too precious to destroy in the guise of medical negligence and that informs one of the reasons for this petition. When this was brought to Dr. Shakiru’s notice in order to resolve the health complications amicably, he, together with our client’s husband, threatened to end our client’s life,” the lawyer informed the Commissioner of Police.
“The child our client gave birth to at Atoke Hospital was secretly handed over to our client’s alleged husband without showing same to our client and our client was subsequently made to know that the doctor allegedly claimed that the child packed up after delivery and so they, together, secretly buried the child without the knowledge of our client till date,” he added.
It was gathered that Shakiru, who is currently facing a rape charge, was dragged before a Magistrate’s Court, sitting in Osogbo, over an alleged professional medical negligence. He has been released on bail while the case will come up on September 9.
Efforts to speak with Shakiru and Adekanye were not successful as at press time.
