SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN CITY

Twelve years after marriage, Augustine Akpan and his wife could not have a child. Akpan who hails from Akwa Ibom State, is a Benin based commercial motorcycle operator (Okada rider). However, God answered their prayers as his wife, Grace, became pregnant carrying a set a twins in her womb. But her joy did not last long as she lost the set of twins after a caesarian section at the UBTH recently. Thereafter, another troubled sets as the hospital authorities handed a bill of almost N200,000, which they consider too high.

•Mr & Mrs. Akpan

Mrs Akpan was however detained in the hospital pending when the family would pay the medical bills. She was later allegedly driven from her hospital bed. Akpan however sought the assistance of Barr. Uwoghiren, a Human Rights lawyer for help. The controversy lingered for three month.

Now, the couple are at war with the UBTH’s authorities over alleged maltreatment by the staff of the hospital. Akpan also alleged that he had to bribe a staff of the hospital in the oxygen room so as to save his dying child. However, the Public Relation Officer of the hospital, Mrs Kayode Ibitoye, debunked the allegation of maltreatment and bribery leveled against the staff of the hospital asking him to come with a proof. Ibitoye narrated that “the woman was dying when they brought her to our hospital. They did not bring her here with a dime and the husband pleaded that we should help her. And we started treatment without payment. But after the treatment, she could not pay the bills. Rather than exploiting avenues within the hospital to help her, the husband went and brought a lawyer. They also brought some journalists who were taking her pictures and recording. That was when I knew about the matter and I asked how much they were owing, the man said he has paid N100,000 but our staff said it was not true that he only paid N65,000. I took them to the Chief Medical Director and he graciously cut the amount to 60 per cent. But after that, we did not see the lawyer from that Wednesday to Sunday. And when they came, they went straight to the ward and said they have removed the woman from the ward. He now came on Sunday and complained that the money was too much. And the issue of bribery cannot be true. Nobody took bribe from him at all. How can one collect bribe from some body who is not even able to pay the wife’s hospital bill. He is just trying to blackmail the hospital after we saved the life of the woman. The CMD deducted N100,000 from her money and it is sad that they now want to blackmail the hospital”.

However, Mrs Akpan narrates her ordeal to Saturday Vanguard: “After I got pregnant and the doctors said I won’t be able to have the baby unless through caesarian section,  I was taken to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) for the operation. I was married for twelve years without any child and when I discovered that I was going to have twins, I was very happy. But during the operation, I lost one of them and after five days, the other one died too. I was devastated. I spent few days in the hospital before I was discharged. After that, they brought our bill and it was too much. But my husband was able to pay N145,000. It was remaining about N70,000. They refused to let me go unless we complete the money. But every day while they detained me, they increased the money and my husband could not pay any more. When they found out that my husband could not pay the balance, they stopped giving me treatment. The nurses will always come and shout at me that you are still here, you don’t want to ask your husband to come and pay the money, that I will remain here. I was not happy at all because I was already mourning because I lost my twin children and being maltreated in the same hospital I had the problem was just too much. And while all these humiliation lasted, I was crying, particularly when I heard children crying.

She added: “So my problem became worst when they refused to allow me go home. Thereafter, my husband contacted a Human Rights lawyer. That was how they packed my things away from that ward and took me to where I started sleeping on the floor. I slept three days in that place. So when my husband came to pay the balance, they insisted that my husband must pay for the three days I spent on the floor without food and drugs. They said my husband will pay N1,500 for each of the three days. So people came to my aid through the lawyer. He brought us some money from people I don’t even know and that was how we paid the money and I regained my freedom.

There is even a case of another woman who had spent three months in that hospital. She had twins and they detained her and warned that she would remain there unless ‘God is Good Motors’ or Oshiomhole comes to pay off her bills. My own is even worse because I lost my twins there and nobody pitied me. And I believe that was how God sent my helper, the lawyer to me.

Speaking also, Akpan Augustine narrated the incident: “My wife was in labour and I rushed her to UBTH but they delayed her for four hours before the operation. And during the surgery, I lost one of my twins . They took the second one to the Oxygen room and after five days, the second child died. So after few days, the doctor discharged my wife and said I should pay the hospital bill. And before that, my twins that died were taken to the mortuary and I had to pay some money there. In fact, some people even took N10,000 bribe from me so as to use the oxygen on my baby. They said they wanted to help me. And at the end of the day, I paid N145,000 and I thought after paying this money, my wife will come home. But I did not know it was the beginning of my problem. They said I should pay a balance of N80,000. I asked them how my balance became N80,000 after I paid N145,000. They said it was the drugs they gave my wife. I told them all I had left was N18,000 and out of that amount, I gave them N16,000 which they said was meant for oxygen. After paying that, they said the balance was N64,000. After two days, I went to the hospital and asked them my bill, they said it was N80,000.

On the 1st of June, I went there with a lawyer and my bill was increasing every day. They frustrated me the more even after I lost my two children. I am just an Okada rider and all these money that I paid was borrowed from my land lady with interest of N10,000 every month. My experience in UBTH is a very sad one because it is a Federal hospital that should more humane with patients.

After I saw my wife sleeping on the floor, I cried. What I did was to get a lawyer who can help me out.

Barr. Jeferson said: “Akpan came to my office telling me that he lost his twins at UBTH and that the management charged them so high that he could pay and that the wife is still being detained in the hospital. He wanted me to assist him bring out his wife from the hospital. So, I went with him to the hospital and I met the management of the UBTH and they acknowledged that Akpan was owing them money, that I should do a letter of indemnity guaranteeing that I should pay the money since he was unable to pay. And here was some body who was unable to pay my legal fees. Because when he came to my office, I jokingly asked him how much he was going to pay me if I help him and he said N2,000 and I laughed. I knew he was living with a very serious crisis but I told myself it is not the money now, but to help the man. So, I told the UBTH authorities that doing a letter for this man was not the issue but that UBTH had no business detaining the wife and I said we were not going to write that kind of a letter. The issue became quite touching to me. I sent out a message to Nigerians on facebook to draw attention to this inhuman conduct. After I posted the matter, reactions poured in and we got some financial assistance from a few people.

I looked at the law setting up UBTH but did not see a law permitting them to detain people in the hospital. The man on realising some of the failures they exhibited initially, decided to give a discount of 60 per cent of the money which he said was N150,000 and the money came to a little over N60,000. But due to some other personal commitment, I was not able to get back to the hospital before Friday. But on Friday, Mr Akpan called me to say because of my intervention, the management of the hospital ganged up and threw his wife off the bed and she was being physically threatened and abused by the nurses. He said his wife was now sleeping on the bare floor of the hospital and we had to quickly do something. One Mrs Jubril Aku, I don’t know her, sent me N30,000. Another woman, Mrs Mimi Oshodi, wife of a prominent Benin Chief, Bob Oshodi, sent me N50,000. With that amount, we quickly rushed to the hospital the following day and took a camera man there to video events. That was how we were able to take the shot of the woman on the floor. They told us that the bill had gone up and we protested.