Irate policeman raids hospital, kills kids over own daughter's death
From Iyabo Lawal, Ibadan
CONFUSION broke out yesterday at the premises of Oni Memorial Children Hospital in Ibadan when a "frustrated" policeman descended on some kids on admission, killing two and injuring three others.
The policeman, Raymond Egbongbonwuyi, was said to have gone berserk when news of the death of his three-year old daughter, also on admission at the state hospital, was broken to him.
An angry Egbongbonwuyi, who is attached to Iyaganku Central Police Station, allegedly fired teargas canisters at the children on admission and medical personnel attending to them.
In the ensuing melee, two of the children died while three others were placed on oxygen machines to revive them.
The aggressive policeman, who lamented that he was not armed, also wounded three doctors in the hospital. Egbongbonwuyi said he would have killed the admitted children alongside the medical personnel if he had a gun with him.
Three children, identified as Ekundayo Promise, Lawal Awal and Lawal Mariam, were put on oxygen when The Guardian visited the scene.
The irate policeman was said to have brought his three-year-old daughter, Destiny Raymond to the hospital on Tuesday for treatment of severe malaria, chest infection and burns, but the girl died in the night.
He was said to have lost a child at the University College Hospital (UCH) in similar circumstances a fortnight ago.
Upon learning of his daughter's death, the angry policeman stormed the ward and removed drips from five of the children, who were being treated for respiratory disorder and tear-gassed them.
The intervention of policemen from the nearby Oluyole Police Division brought the situation under control.
Parents of the affected children fought back tears over the development and called on the police authority to take necessary action against the officer.
One of the medical personnel decried the insecurity at the hospital and called on the state governments to protect the employees and patients in the hospital.
When contacted, the Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Baba Bolanta, said he was yet to be briefed on the incident.
