Husband battles doctor over death of wife, baby

A father of two, Mr. John Ujatalor, has accused the Medical Director of Ogbeide Medical Centre Ubiaja, Edo State, Dr. John Ogbeide, of negligence in the death of his baby and  wife, Eunice.

Eunice was said to have died on April 5, 2014 while she was being delivered of the baby at the hospital. She was said to have been over 10 months pregnant at the time.

In a telephone interview with PUNCH Metro, Ujatatlor said the scan results showed Eunice was expected to give birth in March 2014.

Ujatalor said, “Eunice had her first two deliveries in that hospital. Naturally when she was pregnant for the third time, we went back there. Ogbeide told us that from the scan results, Eunice ought to have given birth in March. Ogbeide also said from his own calculation, she ought to have delivered in February. He assured us that there was no cause for alarm so, Eunice kept showing up for ante natal clinics as at when due.”

On April 4, 2014, Eunice was said to have begun her labour at about 10pm. Ujatalor said his wife was left in the care of the nurses on duty.

He said, “I was told to go back home. I waited till 5.30am, expecting to receive a call that Eunice had been delivered of our baby. When I got no such call, I went to the hospital; this was around 6am. I waited till 8am for the good news.

“Around 9am, Ogbeide called me aside. He told me that he would have to deliver Eunice by Caesarian section because the baby was coming out with the hand first instead of the head. Although I was worried, I gave my consent.”

At about 1pm, Ogbeide informed Ujatalor that his wife and baby did not survive the surgical procedure. He allegedly told the bereaved husband that Eunice’s uterus had ruptured and had died of internal bleeding.

Ujatalor said, “Ogbeide should have known something was wrong immediately the labour became prolonged. Instead, he allowed Eunice to labour for a long time. By the time she was being operated, she was already weak.

“As if that was not enough, the policemen he brought to the hospital also shot Eunice’s brother Damien in the eye. He had gone to the hospital to demand that he see his sister’s corpse.”

PUNCH Metro gathered that after Ogbeide was told of his wife’s death, he was taken away from the hospital to his home. However, when Damien was informed of the incident, he went to the hospital to demand answers.

Damien was allegedly denied entrance into the hospital’s mortuary. He reportedly went back a few hours later. At the time, two armed policemen from the Ubiaja Police Station were at the hospital. Damien was reportedly shot in the eye by the policemen.

His sister, Kate Esene, said, “We went to the police station to report the shooting. Unknown to us, the same policeman who shot Damien, was sitting at the counter. It was when he refused to take our statement that we realised he was the same person.

“We later took Damien to the Irrua Specialist Hospital. He was transferred to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Although the divisional police officer of Ubiaja learned of the shooting and came to the hospital, he treated the matter with levity and said Damien was shot with a tear gas gun.”

Although Ogbeide was said to have been later arrested alongside the policemen involved in the shooting, PUNCH Metro gathered that they were later released on bail.

When contacted, Ogbeide said, “Ujatalor has already gone round several media houses with the same allegation. I have nothing more to say. The matter is already with the police.”

Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Moses Eguaveon, confirmed the incident.

He said, “Arrests have been made and investigation is ongoing. Ogbeide and Ujatalor’s statements have been taken. As for the allegation against the Ubiaja Police Division, Damien was alleged to have gone to the hospital with an angry mob. Perhaps it was done with the intention of attacking the hospital. A distress call was sent to the police and when they arrived, they met Damien with a broken bottle. In the process, a riot gun exploded and Damien was wounded. Investigation is ongoing to determine if he was wounded by the riot gun or bottle.”

 -PUNCH