Ogun psychiatric patients revolt, protest poor treatment

Psychiatric patients at the Neuropshyatric Hospital Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, have protested the poor treatment being meted to them.

Channels Television reports that the violent protest lasted over two hours before police operatives from the Lafenwa Divisional Headquarters intervened and brought the situation under control.

A psychiatric doctor, alongside three other nurses, allegedly escaped being killed during the violent protest.

According to the report, the patients in the Aro Neuropsychiatric facility were protesting poor feeding, poor sanitary system, as well as the absence of alternative electricity each time the distribution company failed to supply power at the hospital.

Some relatives of the patients on admission stated that the matter had been ongoing for a while before some of the partially healed patients resorted to protesting the situation.

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A female relative of one of the patients on admission said the least amount being paid by each of the affected patients ranged from N500,000 to N700,000 depending on the length of their stay at the facility.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the facility, Ajibola said the matter was “just an internal affair”,and has been redressed, saying it is not worth being reported as news.

However, the Lafenwa Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Enatufe Omoh, said only one of the psychiatric doctors was assaulted, as he sustained varying degrees of bites from the protesting on-admission patients.

Omoh stated that the protesters had disagreements with their handlers at the health facility having been denied some privileges.

He, however, denied the death of anybody within the period when the protest lasted.