By Nehru Odeh
Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has raised some pertinent issues over the death of a Lagos chef, Peju Ugboma who died at a Lagos hospital following a surgical operation that went awry.
Peju, 41, and founder of I Luv Desserts died on 25 April at EverCare Hospital, Lagos where she was rushed to following complications arising from an elective hysterectomy surgery she had undergone at Premier Specialist Medical Centre in Victoria Island Lagos.
Ijoma Ugboma, husband of the deceased, is suspecting foul play in the operation his wife underwent at the medical centre and seeking justice. According to him, Peju, whom she met while they were students at the University of Lagos, died as a result of medical negligence and malpractice at Premier Specialist Medical Centre.
An independent autopsy carried out at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, revealed that Peju had suffered internal bleeding, which led to her death. It was discovered that she had about 2 litres of blood in her abdomen and pelvic area.
In a statement on Tuesday in Lagos, Agbakoba, who is the lead counsel in the case, said, having been briefed by the family of the deceased, they had taken some steps to see that the issues surrounding the death of the deceased are resolved.
“The family is convinced that this is a case of gross medical negligence/ malpractice,” he said, adding that a thorough investigation of her tragic death will be conducted and the doctors held accountable for her death
To achieve this, Agbakoba’s law firm has requested a coroner’s inquest into Peju’s death and demanded medical reports from the various hospitals the deceased had attended before the operation. It also questioned why Premier hospital has refused to send its reports when others have sent theirs.
One pertinent issue Agbakoba also raised was the fact that Premier Specialist Medical Centre had no CT Scan equipment and blood bank when it carried out the operation on Peju.
In a letter to the Executive Secretary, Lagos State Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, he and his legal team have requested inspection of the hospital facilities, confirmation of the hospital licence and accreditation to perform a major operation and a temporary closure of the hospital
Agbakoba also said his law firm has also made petitions to the Attorney General of Lagos State, the Nigeria Medical Association, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Medical and Dentist Disciplinary Council of Nigeria, the Lagos State House of Assembly and others.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), at least 3,000 people have signed an online petition urging the Lagos State Government and the Ministry of Health to investigate the death of Peju.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government, via its official Twitter account, has directed the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency to conduct a proper investigation into the death of the chef.