Kehinde Fajobi
Two medical doctors, Michael Atiba and Michael Ugbeye, are currently on trial at the Ikeja High Court in Lagos over the death of a patient, Ejiro Ugorobi. The Lagos State Government charged the doctors with involuntary manslaughter, to which both pleaded not guilty.
According to the prosecution counsel, A. O. Azeez, Atiba, a doctor at Gbagada General Hospital, and Ugbeye, a consultant at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, face charges related to the incident that occurred on October 21, 2023. The alleged actions contravene Section 224 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
During the trial, the prosecution’s first witness and mother of the deceased, Nkechi Ugorobi, provided key testimony. She said, “Ejiro is my only son. He is 29 years old, an electrical engineer by training and went into marketing finance. He is my friend, my adviser, and my chatmate. On September 9, 2023, Ejiro went to play football as exercise and fell. He called me and told me that he had fallen while playing football.”
Nkechi described how her son reported his injury: “He told me that his injury was serious, with a swollen leg, and that he needed to see Ugbeye, the doctor at Morningside Specialist Hospital for treatment. The following day, he called me that he had to run some tests. The test confirmed that he had a torn ligament.”
She continued, explaining her son’s condition: “Throughout this period, he wasn’t going to work and he was working from home. I asked him how he was faring, and he told me that the swelling was going down and that he was feeling better. He told me he had to run a longer test, both blood and others. Then one day, he told me that the swelling had come down but that he was still feeling pains and walking with difficulty, limping.”
Nkechi further revealed details about her son’s surgery: “Ejiro told me that he wanted to go and do an MRI. I told him that if the MRI was necessary, he should come so I could take him to some of those locals to massage his leg, and you’d be fine. But he said no. He told me he was going to have surgery, a non-invasive type of surgery. I’m quoting him.”
She explained the events following the surgery: “Ejiro carried out that surgery on October 21, 2023. Ejiro went to the hospital with his immediate elder sister. He told me that they were there already when he had the surgery. Afterwards, he called me and told me that the surgery was successful and that the surgeon did a perfect job, but that the injection they gave him was disturbing him, and that his stomach was disturbing him. He also said he felt like vomiting, that he was feeling cold and hot and that his leg was as heavy as iron. After some time, he said he was feeling sleepy. That was the end of my discussion with him.”
She concluded her testimony with a tragic account of her son’s last moments: “I spoke with him when he woke up; he told me that he was weak and that he was having shortness of breath and palpitations. After that, Ejiro died. He died after his surgery on October 21, 2023.”
Justice Oyindamola Ogala then adjourned the case to November 20, 2024, for the trial and cross-examination of the prosecution’s second witness.