Pregnant Victim Of Police Brutality Loses Baby
Sad news reaching festac online , a pregnant woman, Chika Elekawachi who was recently beat up by Policemen has lost her baby,according to Daily Sun.
Chika Elekawachi was allegedly brutalized by some policemen on the 19th of July 2015 to the extent of stripping her naked just because she was accused of resisting arrest. The policemen who were attached to the Satellite Police Division in Lagos then dragged her to the police station.
In a bid to Saving her life , her family members rushed her to the Safe Hands Hospital, old Ojo road, Amuwo, Lagos, after she allegedly passed out at the police station. the doctor on duty, Okoawo Innocent, who spoke on behalf of the management, admitted that Chika was rushed into the hospital half conscious.
Unfortunately , Chika started bleeding around 11pm on Monday 27th July 2015 and was rushed to emergency delivery . Although the baby was delivered on Tuesday 28th of July alive and premature but was already weak as a result of the delay to be put in an incubator and less than 48 hours after The little one who died at Outreach Hospital in Festac town, Lagos
The officers involved who were seen going about their normal duty were immediately arrested and detained. Even they believed that Chika Elekawachi was pretending to be in labor until proven wrong by the doctors.
On the cause of death, Dr Efunbu Dosekun of Outreach Hospital, who spoke with Saturday Sun, explained that the baby had breathing problem which they battled all through the night to control.
“It is rare for a premature baby to survive because there must have been a problem that led to the child being born earlier. When he was rushed in to our hospital, we did all we could to save his life.
“The best thing is for the family to go for an autopsy to have a clear understanding of what really happened. Chika’s placenta detached from the baby and the unborn child was breathing on its own inside his mother’s womb. We thank God that Chika did not bleed to death before the doctors on duty discovered that”, she stated.
Chika’s family memebers have cried out to the public over what they described as an attempt by the police to sweep the matter under the carpet.
READ: Policemen brutalise 8-month pregnant woman
Saturday Sun gathered that Safe Hands hospital was one of the best in the area but in an attempt to please the policemen who were battling to prove that Chika was actually pretending to be in labour, they corroborated their claim.
The doctor on duty despite the bruises and the fact that Chika was brought into the hospital unconscious, said that she was perfectly okay. He even suggested that Chika should be released to her family to go home.
Chika’s relative told Saturday Sun that at about 4am on Thursday, Chika called insisting that they should go and check her baby. “I told her that it was too early but she kept insisting that I must move over to the hospital that something is wrong. It was then that my phone rang again and it was the doctor. She told me that the baby had just passed on. It is rather unfortunate,” she said.
On getting to the hospital, senior officers, including the Satellite DPO, were seen leaving after sighting the dead baby and consoling the family. He was said to have been supportive and promised that the suspects would be prosecuted accordingly. He was said to have pleaded with the family members that the police would pay the bill incurred by the family.
Confirming the incident, Lagos State Police Command spokesman, Kenneth Nwosu, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), assured that investigation was ongoing to ascertain what actually transpired. He said the suspected policemen had been arrested and were in detention, adding that they would be prosecuted according to the law guiding the force.
“The Nigerian police has a procedure which will be followed in ensuring that the suspects will be disciplined”, he added.
Source: Pulse