NBA-SPIDEL Vows To Prosecute Hospitals Who Rejected Slain Abuja Lawyer For Treatment

*Says Compulsory Treatment And Care For Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017 Outlaws Rejection Of Gunshot Victims
*Vows To Hold Hospitals Accountable For Lawyer’s Death

The NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) has promised to use the death of lawyer, Mr. Stephen Eke to set example for other hospitals in Nigeria; vowing to teach lesson to hospitals that refused to treat him on the basis of gun shot wounds.

In a statement, the NBA-SPIDEL Chairman, Dr. Monday Ubani noted that the lawyer, Mr Stephen Enyinnaya Eke who was of the NBA Nyanya-Karu Branch has been shot in Abuja in the presence of some of his family members.

According to the NBA-SPIDEL Chairman, the deceased was said to have been rushed to several hospitals in Abuja while still breathing but was rejected by the medical officers on duty on account of the fact that was carrying bullet wounds.

Reacting to this, Dr Ubani established that Nigeria has an Act( Compulsory Treatment And Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017) that outlaws such evil practice of rejecting patients who are shot by any person including criminals in Nigeria.

In continuation, Dr. Ubani emphatically stated “We hereby condemn the killing by the criminals and demand a quick intervention by the security agencies to track and bring the killers to justice.

“We also strongly call out the various hospitals who refused, rejected and neglected to treat the victim when he was still alive, citing gun shot wound as a reason.”

He noted that the said rejections was not only criminal in nature, but also a flagrant breach of medical ethics.

“This rejection to treat is not only criminal and callous but a clear breach of the ethics of the medical profession that mandates the medical personnel’s to save lives first irrespective of the condition of the patient with gun shot wounds”, he said.

Commenting on the position of the NBA-SPIDEL, Ubani established that the Section regarded this as a monumental professional failure on the part of the hospitals and their doctors, and promised to use this case as a test case to teach the hospitals and their personals a good lesson that there are laws governing victims that sustain bullet wounds in Nigeria, prescribing that they should be admitted and treated first with a subsequent report made available to the security agencies.

“Having failed to uphold the law and acting contrarily, which led to the untimely death of Late Mr Stephen Eke, we will faithfully hold those hospitals accountable to the law”, Dr. Ubani established.

He went on to request Nyanya-Karu Branch of the NBA where Mr Late Eze belonged to supply NBA-SPIDEL with the names and addresses of the various hospitals that refused to treat Mr Late Eke when he was rushed to them for treatment.

As to what would be done, he said, “We promise to immediately commence both criminal and civil proceedings against them on behalf of the Nigerian Bar Association.

“We are prepared as a body to stop the wanton wastage of lives in Nigeria especially lives that can be saved by those in a position to do so.”

He noted that the death of Mr Late Eke was one too many, establishing that the NBA Section was also aware that a colleague, one Mr Nathan Akatakpo in Port Harcourt was also assassinated within the week after the killers may have snuffed live out of his client a day before his death.

“It is sad and disheartening that Port Harcourt in Rivers State is now becoming notorious for criminalities perpetrated against Legal Practitioners.

“In the last 3 years or so, many lawyers have either been kidnapped or killed senselessly within that environment”, he pointed out.

Dr. Ubani, urged the State and Federal Government to ensure that the killers of our colleagues be brought to book expeditiously.

“We urge drastic action from all major stakeholders to halt these wanton killings of lawyers who are just performing their professional duties and does not deserve to be killed as is the case presently. Enough is enough!”