Mailafia died of Covid-19 – Hospital finally opens up

Management of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) has finally opened up on the cause of death of former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and chieftain of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr Obadiah Mailafia, who died, last Sunday morning, at its medical facility.

While groups such as the MBF had based on claims by wife of the late Mailafia, raised the suspicions over what it called a conspiracy to murder the late critic of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, the hospital in question and its staff remained silent over its role in the death of the public figure.

However, in a statement on Tuesday, management of the hospital described the allegations as totally untrue.

According to the Chief Medical Director at UBTH, Professor Bissallah Ekele, the former CBN chief had been attended to at two hospitals where he tested positive for COVID-19 before he was eventually transferred to the facility when his health had degenerated. He said the former CBN deputy governor eventually died of COVID-19 owing to underlying diseases.

“I can confirm in my honor that all the allegations circulating in the media are false. We never asked for any deposit before commencement of treatment. The doctor on duty that day was on ground and received the patient and he was never at any point refused oxygen. In fact, he was placed on high-flow-oxygen to enable fast breathing,” Ekele said.

“It was unfortunate that his health deteriorated rapidly despite all efforts to save his life.”

On his part, Usman Galadima, the doctor on duty during the incident, also dismissed the allegation that the hospital demanded a N600,000 deposit before attending to the deceased.

“I was on duty between Saturday, September 18, and Sunday, 19. So when I resumed work in the morning, I was informed that we would be expecting a patient from CBN and I informed my staff -the nurses and a hygienist to prepare the VIP room and the general medical ward,” Galadima said.

“An ambulance from EHA clinics arrived in the afternoon. We adorned our PPE and rushed to meet the patient. He was already on the ambulance oxygen and from his oxygen consumption level, I noticed he was in a severe condition. We placed him on a highflow oxygen with no delay and wheeled him into the VIP section in a wheelchair.

“We are a tertiary referral centre for severe and moderate cases of such conditions. I discussed with the patient and the wife the kind of illness he has, the cause and treatment procedure before we started treatment. The wife informed us that the CBN is fully behind the patients’ management and that we should give him the best and that is exactly what we did.

“In the early hours of the following day, we noticed he was deteriorating in spite of all the treatment procedures. He could no longer sustain breathing and we had to start resuscitation. Sadly, we couldn’t save him.”

He added that Malaifia was already certified dead before a foreign consultant was asked to intervene.

It would be recalled that the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) had alleged foul play and conspiracy over the shocking death of the former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Obadiah Mailafia, Sunday morning, in Abuja, insisting that there must be a investigation into the incident.

Mailafia died at the age of 64.

The group said this Sunday, in a statement made available to Oracle Today, where it also narrated the events leading up to the death of the known critic of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Mailafia died from unconfirmed ailment at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital in Gwagwalada, Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, on Sunday morning.

However, after first confirming the passing on of the group’s chieftain, on Sunday morning, the MBF later alleged conspiracy following the manner of Mailafia’s death allegedly at the hands of the medical personnel at the hospital, who it claimed had deliberately denied the former CBN chief, the needed response that would have saved his life.

”Arising from various enquiries from Nigerians over the circumstances of his death, the Forum wishes to state as follows: That Dr Mailafia arrived Abuja last Sunday September 12, 2021 from Akure and was received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by his wife.

”On arrival at home, the wife noticed he was not in the best of health conditions and seemed to be suffering from malaria. After three days of treatment without signs of improvement, he went to the CBN Hospital on Friday September 17, 2021 where he was shabbily treated. It took the intervention of a senior medic who immediately placed him on oxygen and admitted him.

”Dr Mailafia’s was later given the option of choosing three hospitals: Gwagwalada Hospital, National Hospital and EHA Clinics. The wife opted for the third choice. On arrival at the EHA Clinics, the wife was subjected to yet another moment of anxiety as it took a direct order from the top management of the hospital to accept him.

”After few hours of treatment, the EHA Clinics told the wife that it was expedient to transfer the former CBN Deputy Governor to Gwagwalada as the clinic was not fully equipped to handle the case.

”The wife opposed the decision and insisted that she was opposed to the idea of taking her husband to Gwagwalada. Mailafia’s wife only succumbed when the consultant assured her that nothing bad will happen to her husband.

”Yesterday, Saturday September 18, 2021, Dr Obadiah was transferred to Gwagwalada. On arrival, the name of the doctor that was billed to attend to Dr Mailafia was not on duty. Even when an attempt was made by foreign health consultants to save the situation, the doctor on duty got angry and said he was not obligated to listen to any foreign consultants that had been brought into the matter with the sole purpose of ensuring nothing goes wrong.

”Wife of the former CBN Deputy Governor was asked to pay the sum of N600’000 as deposit even when it was a referral case, with accruing medical bill to be settled by the CBN. At a point, Dr Mailafia complained over his breathing problems and pleaded with the doctors to place him in a ventilator. The doctors flatly refused.

”Even after the doctors declared Dr. Mailafia dead, foreign consultants who were brought into the matter through Dr Mailafia’s son that is living abroad, had directed a family member who is a medical professional, with the wife of the CBN Deputy Governor, to mount pressure on the chest of Dr. Mailafia for resuscitation and thereafter place him on a life support.

”The doctors in Gwagwalada refused all entreaties by the family members of Dr Mailafia to follow the advice of the foreign consultants, insisting that they have already pronounced him dead.

”Even when the wife could feel the pulse of her husband, the doctor flatly declared there was nothing they could do since they had already pronounced him dead.

”While the above narration sums up the circumstances under which Dr Mailafia died, we still await the result of the actual cause of his death. As a nationalist and patriot that he was, Dr. Mailafia was completely dedicated to the emancipation of ethnic nationalities from the clutches of oppression.

”The economist was never afraid to speak truth to power just as he remained committed to the enthronement of justice and equity to all citizens across ethnic and religious divides,” the MBF statement narrated.