The family of Adeboye Adenitan who died from a gas explosion in their Ikorodu home will not remain the same as they not only grieve but seek release of his body from hospital.
According to reports, the automobile mechanic had returned from work that fateful day and wanted to prepare a meal for himself, but went into his room to pick up something, he became tired and slept off.
He however woke up in the middle of the night and proceeded to the kitchen to continue with his cooking, and when he made an attempt to light the gas burner, the kitchen engulfed in flames.
Mother of the deceased, Bose, said her son suffered severe burns on his head, face, arms and laps, adding that neighbours rushed him to a nearby hospital for treatment. She noted her son was later referred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, where he died, adding that the corpse has since been seized till they can settle outstanding hospital bills.
While appealing to the management of the hospital, the deceased’s brother, Oluwatobiloba, said the family had no means to raise the outstanding N1.5m, as his brother died despite the family spending a lot of money to keep him alive.
“We are pleading with the management to release his corpse to us on compassionate grounds as we have no money. When he died, they calculated the bill and deducted the amount we had spent and told us that we had an outstanding of N1.5m to settle before his corpse could be released. I have written two letters pleading with the hospital management to release my brother’s corpse that has been in their custody for two months.”
He added that while they were asked to get a police report, they were required to pay N20, 000 at the Onipanu Police Station by the Deputy Crime Officer since the incident was not reported at any station.
However, spokesperson to the hospital, Ayo Adenike, said that from their records, an initial deposit of N500,000 was made out of which its medical social services assisted them in raising the sum of N400,000; and only N100,000 was paid into the hospital’s account by the family, hence owe the hospital the sum of N1,577,945.
