Three in police net over doctor’s death

The Police Command in Lagos State has confirmed the arrest of three persons over the death of Dr Vware Diaso at the General Hospital in Lagos.

The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the arrest on Saturday to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.

Hundeyin, who did not mention the identities of the suspects, said that the police had begun investigation into the case.

NAN reports that a faulty elevator at the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos, claimed the life of a medical doctor, Vware Diaso, who was working at the facility.

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The incident reportedly happened on Wednesday evening when the deceased, who lived on the 9th floor of the building, wanted to meet a dispatch rider who had brought her the food she earlier ordered online.

The deceased, a graduate of Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State, was said to be undergoing her mandatory one-year internship programme at the hospital and had less than two weeks to complete the programme when tragedy struck.

Reports said that the hospital elevator that killed the late Diaso crashed from the 10th floor to the ground floor.

It was also gathered that the late doctor was rushed to the emergency ward of the hospital for treatment but eventually died.

The sources also pointed out that the elevator had malfunctioned several times before the incident, but serious attention was not given to it by the hospital management.

Meanwhile, Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has vowed to get to the root of the doctor’s death through thorough investigation, as he condoles with victim’s family.

NMA begins probe

In a related development, the Nigerian Medical Association, Lagos Branch, said it had commenced an independent investigation into the cause of death of Dr Diaso.

The Chairman of NMA, Lagos Chapter, Benjamin Oluwatosin, told one of our correspondents that some members of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Nigerian Society of Engineers were part of the selected investigators to probe the circumstances that led to the doctor’s death.

He stated that the essence of this panel was to probe the case independently without government backing, adding that anybody is found culpable would face the wrath of law.

Meanwhile, a safety expert, Mahiu Muttiu, said failure to adopt regular maintenance of elevators would continue to pose a danger to people’s life.

Speaking in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, the safety expert enjoined establishments using elevators to ensure regular maintenance.

According to him, the incident would have been avoided if the management of the hospital had ensured standard safety practices.

He said, “It (elevator) also must be handled by the authorised distributor of that product because the original spare parts can be replaced if faulty. Before or during the use of the lift, they must ensure that all necessary tests have been carried out on the elevator as prescribed by the manufacturer.”