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Edo Hospital Denies Complicity In Death Of Twin Babies

Published

3 weeks ago

August 26, 2025

Management of the Med-Vical Medical Centre in Benin City, has denied allegations of medical negligence, secrecy and incompetence in the handling of the very ill extreme pre-term twin babies referred from another facility to them.

Med-Vical Medical Centre is specialized in paediatric and neonatal intensive care services with state of the art facilities for respiratory care and life support

The pre-term babies died on separate days at the neo-natal intensive care centre.

Parents of the babies, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Sylvester had petitioned the Police calling for discreet investigation into the death of their babies.

They accused the hospital of taking one of the babies to the mortuary without informing them.

But the hospital said the babies were delivered pre-term in another hospital, but subsequently referred from a second private hospital to our facility at about 9pm on July 9th.

The Consultant Paediatrician/Neonatologist of the hospital, Dr. Enato Gertrude said she received the babies who were in a critical condition and diagnosed them to have severe prematurity, severe respiratory distress syndrome, severe neo-natal sepsis and peri-natal asphyxia.

Dr. Enato said despite the fact that the parents of the babies could not provide 50 percent of what was needed to start treatment, they commenced treatment in a race to save the babies.

She said the parents were counseled, informed and their consent sought on every step taken to treat the babies.

Dr. Enato said the first twin died after eight days of being admitted at the facility, while the second one died after three weeks.

According to her, “I wasn’t there at the delivery. I don’t know what transpired. I don’t know everything that happened until they got to our facility which was several hours after the children were born, because they came into our facility very ill.

“When the children came, we diagnosed them and put the babies on the machine and started treatment, there is a minimum deposit that is supposed to be paid. The babies needed tubings, surfactants and caffeine citrate, which are expensive. They are not even readily available over the counter.

“They’re actually specially ordered, specially packaged, and cold chain must be maintained with them. And they are quite expensive. I don’t produce them. I buy them to use for the babies. And it’s supposed to help these babies. So at this point, the parents didn’t have enough money for all of this. I think the father had less than 50% of the money because he said he couldn’t get the money at that time.

“He came to meet me and I just told the billing officer not to bother them, let’s attend to these babies first, collect what he had. So I think then he had just 250,000 or so for each baby. But we were not focusing on the money. We just needed to save the lives of the babies of which we continued the care.

“We placed both babies on the machine and we continued to give antibiotics and oxygen therapy. And at a point, we noticed that the respiratory distress was not getting better and we informed the parents.

“while on admission we noticed the babies had thrombocytopenia (low platelets) and immediately we told the parents to get what they call platelets. Due to the severe sepsis, we also requested for blood culture.

“At a point on day eight, we noticed that the thrombocytopenia for baby two was not getting better despite all that we had done. A diagnosis of severe neonatal sepsis with multiple organ dysfunction and disseminated intravascular coagulation was made.

“So we called the parents and counselled them that we needed to put the baby on the ventilator for complete life support but at this time the baby was bleeding from thrombocytopenia and we carried the parents along. They saw what happened. Despite all our resuscitation efforts for the baby, the baby succumbed to the illness. The father wasn’t happy after we explained everything to him. It was quite painful at that time for everybody.

“Following the passing of the first twin, the father became hostile and we tried to counsel him but he was difficult to get him to calm down. We even suggested referring the second twin to UBTH, but he quickly declined and pleaded for treatment to continue, as they had no where else they preferred to go to.

“We did a lot for these babies to ensure that the second baby continued to live but two weeks after the passing of the first baby, we noticed bleeding continued for the second one despite blood transfusion with platelets administration, and the baby needed a mechanical ventilator (life support).

“We counseled the mother and told the mother that at this point that the baby had poor prognosis. Chances of survival was slim and she said yes that we should continue to do everything she has faith that the baby will survive.

“On wednesday we saw a little bit of improvement but it declined again and the baby had to be continued on mechanical ventilator life support, but the baby succumbed to the illness.”

She said the parents were contacted, the mother came to see the corpse of the child, she left and didn’t return.

“Due to the delay in claiming the corpse after 12 hours of demise and after several attempts to reach the father to no avail, we decided to take the corpse to the mortuary. We never denied the parents access to their child’s corpse.”

The hospital further added that they are committed to transparency and accountability in their operations adding that at Med Vical Medical Centre, patients safety and well-being are top priorities as they strive to provide highest quality care.

Related Topics:Edo Med-Vical Medical Centre

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JUST IN: Kenya Airways Pays NCAA Sanction Fee For Passenger’s Rights Violations

Published

1 hour ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

Kenya Airways has paid the sanction fee imposed by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority over passenger rights violations, including the case involving Nigerian traveller Gloria Omisore.

According to a post by the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, on his official X account on Thursday, the airline settled the penalty on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, following a series of meetings that included the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, airline representatives, and officials from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

“Kenya Airways has, on Wednesday 17/09/2025, paid the sanction fee as a penalty for the Gloria Omisore and other consumer protection-related infractions,” Achimugu confirmed.

He stressed that NCAA sanctions are not designed to punish operators but to strengthen compliance with safety and passenger-handling standards.

“As always, NCAA sanctions are not to punish operators, but to help improve their flight operations, especially with regard to safety and passenger handling protocols,” he said.

While commending Kenya Airways for complying, Achimugu noted that payment of fines does not conclude the matter, as the timeframe for resolving the cases has already elapsed. “The payment of sanction fines does not conclude the issues. The NCAA will follow through and is assuring both passengers and airlines of its commitment to protecting their rights and responsibilities,” he added.

Achimugu also emphasised the airline’s long-standing partnership with Nigeria, noting that the penalty was case-specific and does not diminish the positive aspects of its operations.

The NCAA said it would continue to enforce regulations to safeguard passenger rights and ensure airlines adhere to international aviation standards.

In February, Nigerian passenger Gloria Omisore accused Kenya Airways of mishandling her during a disrupted trip that left her stranded at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Omisore, who had been denied boarding on her connecting flight to Paris due to a missing Schengen transit visa, claimed the airline had earlier assured her she was eligible to travel. The visa issue resulted in a 17-hour layover, followed by an additional 10-hour delay for an alternative London route offered by the airline.

During the long wait, Omisore requested accommodation and care, citing exhaustion and health concerns, but Kenya Airways declined, arguing that such provisions do not apply in visa-related denied boardings. The situation escalated into a confrontation, captured on video, where Omisore allegedly threw used sanitary pads at staff.

In response, the NCAA launched an investigation, finding Kenya Airways guilty of breaching consumer protection regulations and misleading the public in its initial statements.

On May 7, 2025, the NCAA sanctioned the airline, ordering compensation of 1,000 Special Drawing Rights for each of the three affected passengers, including Omisore, and demanding a public apology.

News

Flood: Residents Chide Edo Govt Over Failure To Show Concern

Published

1 hour ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

Residents of Ekpoma in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State have lambasted the Governor Monday Okpehbolo-led state government over failure to show concern on the tragic incident where a cocoa merchant, Frank Omoruyi, was swept away by flood.

Recall that it was reported on Tuesday that flood swept away a man earlier identified as motorcyclist.

The residents, while expressing displeasure over the state government’s failure to send any rescue team to help recover the corpse, said they paid what they termed ‘good money’ to divers from Benue State to recover Omoruyi’s corpse from a burrow pit at Uwenbo area after two days of intense search.

The residents who lamented that no state government or local government official joined in the rescue operation, threatened to protest and stop further construction work of the Benin-Auchi highway.

A resident, Samuel Osarenkhoe said: “Two Benue boys were hired to get the body out. We paid them handsomely. He was a cocoa merchant. He was our member and a good friend.

Another resident, Luis Ebabulu, said: “They were saddened that no government official visited the community two days after the incident occurred.

“No government official has been here since the incident occurred. We have been contributing money to pay people to search for the body. We are coming out tomorrow to protest to stop the project. They cannot be doing roads and be killing us.

“Flooding and erosion problems have been worsened by the construction of the Benin-Auchi highway. The contractor channeled flood water to the borrowed pit.”

Edo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon. Paul Ohonbamu, said Governor l has desilted drainages across the state.

News

Police Disown Viral Recruitment Notice, Warn Against Fraud

Published

4 hours ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

The Nigeria Police Force has disowned a recruitment notice circulating on social media, describing it as fake and warning Nigerians not to fall victim to fraudulent schemes.

The document, titled “Nigeria Police Force Recruitment Exercise 2025”, had invited applications from SSCE, OND, HND, and B.Sc. holders, listing requirements such as age limits, fitness standards, and academic qualifications. It also outlined an alleged application process through a supposed police recruitment portal scheduled to open on September 23, 2025.

The notice claimed that candidates were expected to be Nigerian citizens by birth, hold a valid National Identification Number, and meet minimum height and academic criteria. It also warned against membership of secret societies and directed applicants to submit various documents, including birth certificates and guarantor declarations.

In a post on its verified X handle on Thursday, the Nigeria Police Force dismissed the claims and stamped the document “FAKE” to alert the public.

The Police Service Commission (PSC) had earlier issued a similar warning. On August 30, PSC spokesperson Ikechukwu Ani clarified that no recruitment exercise had been announced for 2025.

“The advertorial currently in circulation is fictitious and diversionary,” Ani said. “The Commission has repeatedly urged young Nigerians eager to join the police to be patient and await the official process.”

He added that the forged documents being circulated bear no resemblance to the Commission’s official communication.

The police authorities reiterated that any official recruitment exercise would be publicly announced through verified government platforms.