*Says Woman Gave Daughter’s Wrong Age
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The Lagos State Government has rejected allegations that officials of Randle General Hospital delayed treatment or attempted to extort money from a patient, saying an investigation established that the patient received emergency medical care and financial assistance totalling ₦93,950.
The state Ministry of Health also disputed claims circulated on social media concerning the age of the patient, Alimat Oshodi, stating that she is 21 years old and not 13 as alleged in the viral post.
Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed the findings in a statement issued on Thursday following an investigation prompted by the viral allegations.
According to the ministry, Alimat first presented at the hospital’s Mother and Child Centre on August 4, 2026, as an emergency case requiring immediate medical intervention.
The ministry said she received life-saving emergency treatment under the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care programme at no cost to her family and was discharged on August 11.
“The initial value of the emergency care provided was ₦75,950, free of charge,” the ministry said.
It added that Alimat returned to the hospital on August 27 for follow-up treatment and investigations.
According to the government, the hospital’s Social Welfare Unit subsequently provided ₦5,000 on August 28 and another ₦13,000 on August 31 towards further investigations, while the patient contributed ₦10,000.
The ministry said the total assistance provided by the state to the patient amounted to ₦93,950.
Addressing the allegation concerning a Point of Sale transaction, the ministry said the controversy arose after an NGO offered to pay for an investigation that had already been funded through the hospital’s Social Welfare Fund.
It said the patient sought a refund of the ₦13,000 previously paid on her behalf but was informed that payments made through the Social Welfare programme could not be refunded at the hospital’s Paypoint under established procedure.
“She was informed that Social Welfare payments could not be refunded at the Paypoint in accordance with established procedure,” the ministry stated.
Abayomi said the findings showed that the state’s social health protection mechanisms had worked as intended to prevent financial difficulty from denying the patient access to medical care.
The ministry identified some of the mechanisms as Ilera Eko, hospital-based Social Welfare support and the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care programme.
“This investigation has established the facts surrounding the incident and confirms that the State’s social health protection mechanisms work seamlessly and, in this case, provide timely support at no cost to the patient when she required emergency care to the tune of ₦93,950,” Abayomi said.
He said the ministry’s findings contradicted the impression created by the viral social media post that officials of a Lagos government hospital deliberately delayed treatment and attempted to extort money from a vulnerable patient.
The controversy began after Kafayat Oshodi alleged in a social media post that hospital officials delayed treatment and demanded money concerning her daughter, whom she described as 13 years old and in need of urgent medical attention.
The post attracted widespread attention, prompting the Ministry of Health to investigate the circumstances surrounding the treatment.
The ministry subsequently said its records established that the patient at the centre of the hospital complaint was 21 years old and had received both emergency treatment and subsequent financial assistance from the state.
The government said it was also improving payment processes across public hospitals through the deployment of the Smart Health Information Platform and regular audits of fee-collection practices.
Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding the Oshodi family also attracted the intervention of the Lagos State Sports Commission over a separate issue involving a young squash player, Mariam Oshodi.
The Director-General of the commission, Lekan Fatodu, met Kafayat Oshodi and Mariam after another viral video in which the mother complained that her daughter missed a regional squash tournament because she was unable to retrieve her sporting equipment from a shop allegedly locked by officials of Surulere Local Government.
Mariam, who represents Lagos State in squash in the U-15 category, was reportedly unable to access her racket because it was inside the locked shop.
According to her mother, local government officials usually cited environmental concerns for sealing the premises despite efforts by those affected to keep the environment clean.
Kafayat alleged that while she was outside Lagos, Mariam took medals she had won in previous competitions to the local government office in an attempt to persuade officials of the importance of retrieving her racket for the tournament.
She claimed the officials nevertheless refused to grant the young athlete access to the shop.
Responding, Fatodu assured the family that the Sports Commission would engage the government entity involved to prevent a recurrence.
He also announced proposed medium- and long-term measures, including the development of a stronger policy framework, improved communication between the commission, parents and young athletes, as well as greater awareness among ministries, departments and agencies of the need to protect emerging sporting talents.
The Ministry of Health, however, maintained that its investigation into the hospital complaint did not substantiate claims that medical treatment was deliberately withheld over payment, insisting that the patient instead benefited from government-funded emergency and social welfare support.
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