The Lagos State House of Assembly has disclosed that Dr. Abayomi Baiyewu, the doctor who performed surgery twice on late Adebola Akin-Bright, is not a qualified surgeon.
Adams, the chairman of the Lagos Assembly ad hoc committee tasked with investigating the circumstances surrounding Adebola Akin-Bright’s small intestine disappearance, revealed that the doctor, Dr. Baiyewu, is not a surgeon.
This comes after the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, directed the Clerk, Olalekan Onafeko, to write to the State Police Command requesting the arrest of Dr. Abayomi Baiyewu of Obitoks Hospital in Lagos’ Alimosho neighbourhood on Thursday.
Adebola died on Tuesday, only days after the House urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to help the sick boy seek treatment abroad.
While appreciating Governor Sanwo-Olu for his efforts during the boy’s treatment at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Obasa recommended that a letter conveying the House’s condolence message be delivered to the family.
Obasa also asked the committee to look into other grey areas, such as inviting officials from the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, HEFAMAA, which is mandated by law to supervise private hospitals in the state.
He also requested that the committee evaluate the existing law to determine whether it should be amended, and he stated that private hospitals should be required to report their operations to the government at all times.
He stated that when the committee visited him on Tuesday, he continued to speak with the lawmakers.
Adams, on the other hand, stated that throughout the investigation, the committee learned from Dr. Baiyewu that he is not a surgeon and relied solely on his experience as a medical practitioner.
He further stated that Baiyewu, whose testimony was recorded, informed the committee that he did not perform any medical evaluation on the youngster before the first surgery, which he performed himself, and that he simply relied on a report from the hospital to which the patient was first sent.
According to Noheem, following the first surgery, the youngster complained of stomach pain and was rushed back to Obitoks Hospital, where the doctor performed another round of surgery by himself.
Following additional complications, Noheem stated that the boy was brought to LASUTH, where it was determined that a portion of his intestine was missing.
According to the lawmaker, Baiyewu should have taken the excised part of the boy’s body to a pathological department for testing as a doctor, but “Dr. Baiyewu told the committee that the body parts were mistakenly discarded” and that the doctor planned to perform a third surgery before the boy was taken to LASUTH.
The House expressed condolences to the departed family, with Deputy Speaker Mojisola Meranda urging for the facility to be sealed.
Another committee member, Lawal Aina, informed his colleagues that visiting Adebola in the hospital was a pitiful sight.
He went on to say that during interrogation, it was determined that Dr. Baiyewu was not a certified surgeon.
Some of the lawmakers who commented on the matter proposed that a formal complaint be filed against Dr. Baiyewu with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for action, while others advocated for stronger oversight of medical doctors and facilities.
