Lagos begins trial of two doctors over patient’s death

Two medical doctors, Michael Atiba and Michael Ugbeye, are standing trial at the Ikeja High Court of Lagos State, presided over by Justice Oyindamola Ogala, for the death of a patient, Ejiro Ugorobi.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the Lagos State Government had on March 25, 2024, arraigned the medical doctors over their alleged involvement in the involuntary manslaughter of the deceased patient, to which both pleaded not guilty.

According to the prosecution counsel, A. O. Azeez, Atiba, a doctor at the Gbagada General Hospital and Ugbeye, a consultant with the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, are facing a count of involuntary manslaughter as made against them by the Lagos State Government.

He disclosed that the incident occurred on October 21, 2023, at Michael Adekoya Street, Ilupeju, Lagos State, adding that Atiba and Ugbeye had committed alleged involuntary manslaughter which contravenes Section 224 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
During the trial and cross-examination of the prosecution’s first witness and mother of the deceased, Nkechi Ugorobi, she disclosed that the deceased had gone to play football as an exercise on September 9, 2023, when he fell and had an accident with his leg.

“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,” she said.

She added that the deceased had informed her that his injury was serious, with a swollen leg, and that he needed to see Ugbeye, the doctor at Morningside Specialist Hospital for treatment. Further testing then confirmed that he had a torn ligament.
“I asked him how bad it was and he told me it was serious. He told me his leg was swollen and that he had to go and see a doctor at Morningside Specialist Hospital under Ugbeye, the second defendant, who is the owner of the hospital. The following day, he called me that he had to run some tests. The test confirmed that he had a torn ligament,” she continued.
She disclosed that during this period, the deceased was working from home and reported to her that the swelling was decreasing and he was feeling better. However, she said he mentioned one day that he needed to undergo additional tests, including blood tests, noting that while the swelling had reduced, he was still experiencing pain and walking with difficulty, resulting in a limp.

She said, “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.”

She further stated that Ejiro had told her that he was going to have a non-invasive surgery, which took place on October 21, 2023, with his sister accompanying him. After the surgery, he reported that it was successful but that he experienced discomfort, which made him feel nauseous. She disclosed that his temperature was alternating between hot and cold, and his leg felt very heavy; when he woke up, he complained of weakness, shortness of breath, and palpitations. Shortly after, she said he passed away following the surgery.

“In October, he 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.

“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.

“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,” she said.
Justice Ogala then adjourned the case to November 20, 2024, for trial and cross-examination of the prosecution’s second witness.