Uyi Iluobe: The doctor who turned down overseas opportunities to practice in his Delta community but got killed in line of duty

On the evening of December 29, 2022, a ‘female patient’ walked into Olivet clinic, a private hospital owned by Dr Uyi Iluobe in Oghara-eki community in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State. The nurses on duty at the time said signs of distress were boldly written on her face as she complained of severe body pain and stomach upset. 

Dr Iluobe went into action taught by years of medical experience. He gave instructions to the nurses and immediately began to check the patient’s vitals in the consulting room. Suddenly, the doors burst open and armed masked men entered the hospital and ordered the staff to lie facedown. One of them pointed the gun at the doctor and shot him. The ‘female patient’, whose information had not been documented stood up from the bed, showing that nothing was wrong with her and went out with the assailants who already had a vehicle parked outside. They all got into the car and drove away leaving the panicked staff in shock and the bleeding body of the doctor lying on the floor. Two days later, he died.

The news of Iluobe’s killing shocked the Nigerian medical community as details of the cause of his death emerged. A close source who is also a medical doctor told Neusroom that they suspect that Iluobe was killed by relatives of a patient whom he had attended to a week before his death.

“Some people brought a patient with a gunshot wound to his hospital. He suspected that there was foul play involved and as expected asked the family to go and get a police report while he stabilised the man. They refused and instead took the person away. We heard the person was taken to another hospital where he eventually died,” said the source who does not want to be mentioned because he has not been authorised by the family to speak.

The Delta state police command, however, said that while an investigation was still ongoing to find the missing patient, there was no evidence that the doctor was killed by relatives of a medical patient.

The Nigerian Medical Association, in a statement issued on January 2nd, 2023, disagreed with the Police, insisting that Iluobe was killed by relatives of a gunshot patient. The association condemned the killing noting that attacks against medical doctors in the line of work was increasingly on the rise.

The NMA’s statement read: “While we sympathise with the family of the patient that was lost, we strongly condemn this murder and call on the Government of Delta State, and the Inspector-General of Police to as a matter of urgency bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to book so as to assuage the pain we feel. A man should not be murdered for the selfless act of being on duty on a new year’s eve.”

When those who save lives are at risk of losing theirs

Iluobe studied medicine at Ambrose Ali University in Edo state. A coursemate, Dr Ben Nwachukwu described him as a kind and jovial man who was always ready to help everyone.

“Ask everyone and they will tell you that he is the kindest person they have met. It’s this same kindness that made him set up his clinic in Delta state where he was posted for his National Youth Service Corps.”

Iluobe did his medical internship at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Edo state. Dania Pat, who also did his paediatrics rotation at the time described him as someone who was respectful and did his work diligently.

Nwachukwu said Iluobe could have left after his NYSC and even had the opportunity to leave Nigeria but his clinic, Olivet, had become a source of blessing to Oghara-eki community where he sometimes treated patients for free.

“He was our community doctor, “ a mourner, James Obiora wrote on Facebook. “Apart from treating sick people, he also gave free medical advice. He treats people first and asks for money later. How can someone kill him because a patient died?”

Iluobe’s death has been blamed on the contentious issue of treating patients with gunshot wounds. In the past, a doctor required a police report before treating anyone who had gunshot wounds. A doctor who spoke to Neusroom on the condition of anonymity said whenever they treated anyone with gunshot wounds, it always backfired as the police accused them of collaborating with criminals.

“Your hospital can be locked up while they carry out their investigation. In some cases, it led to temporary arrests. This was why doctors asked for a police report clarifying that the patient was not shot by police or a criminal.

As a result of occasional deaths caused by the refusal of doctors to treat patients with gunshot wounds, the Nigerian government, in 2017 enacted the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot act. This made it mandatory for doctors to offer medical services even in the absence of a police report.

Section 1 states that “Every hospital is to receive and treat victims of gunshot wounds with or without police clearance and/or payment of an initial deposit, but are duty bound to report to the nearest police station within two hours of commencing treatment on the victim.

Section 7 states that “Any authority or person, whose omission results in the unnecessary death of a gunshot victim shall be liable to imprisonment for 5 years or a fine in the sum of N500,000.00 or both.”

The doctor explained that while the law absolves medical practitioners of any wrongdoing when they treat patients with gunshot wounds, they were still at risk if the patient or their relatives fail to provide a police report after treatment, the doctor’s practice was at risk.

He said: “What do you do if after taking care of someone, they and their parents fail to get the report? While the law is good for Nigerians and victims of gun wounds, it does not fully protect the doctor. It does not put into account the fact that there is little you can do when a person has been treated. Doctors lose money all the time to patients after being treated as we can’t do anything not to talk of fleeing after receiving treatment for gunshot wounds.

Iluobe’s death is not an isolated case as it is becoming increasingly common for doctors to be attacked by relatives of medical patients, Hassan Abdulkabir, a private doctor who lives in Lagos told Neusroom.

He said: “In medical school, one of the things we learnt is how to break sad news gently and empathetically to families and loved ones of the deceased. I did not take it seriously until I had my own experience.”

According to the doctor, in 2008, he was working in a hospital in the Agbara area of Lagos. Then still a young doctor, he witnessed the head doctor of the hospital beaten after an accident patient died.

“I used to go home with the doctor because he has a car and was also my mentor so our shifts coincided. The patient then was a young boy who was involved in a vehicular accident. He was declared dead on arrival but his parents blamed us for his death. When we were leaving the hospital in the evening, we were attacked at the entrance and the doctor was beaten and attacked with a machete. I managed to escape with a deep cut on my shoulder. I still have the mark to date.”

The Nigerian Medical Association has called on the National Assembly to enact laws that will protect medical doctors from harm and punish those who attack doctors, especially in their line of duty.

In June 2021, a medical doctor, Precious Emeka Chinedu, was abducted at his clinic in Salka village, Magama Local Government Area of Niger State. According to reports, he ran the only hospital in the community and was well-loved. His death was attributed to bandits who reportedly took him from his clinic to the bush where his body was later discovered by local vigilantes.

While official sources blamed his death on bandits, a source who worked with him in Niger state revealed to Neusroom on the condition of anonymity that the doctor was abducted by families of a patient that died in his hospital. 

The source said: “The relatives blamed him for the death of their family member who died in his hospital. They claimed he mismanaged the person’s health and they vowed to punish him. If it was bandits, they would have asked for ransom. In his own case, he was killed as soon as he was taken away.”

In some cases, families of patients allege that negligence on the part of doctors contributes to the death of patients. 

Christiana Adelakun, a medical doctor in Lagos believes people need to understand that the shortage of doctors means doctors are overworked most of the time and have to cater to more patients than they can handle with each demanding priority.

She said: “Every patient or family believes they should be given priority but it does not work like told. I have been slapped before by the husband of a woman in labour because I was called to attend to an emergency case while nurses attended to his wife. I cannot count the number of times I have had work on days I was supposed to be off or on leave because the hospital is short-staffed.”

The World Health Organisation recommends that the ratio of doctors to patients should be one to 600. In Nigeria, however, it currently stands at 1 to 1,500, a situation that has increased the number of patient mortality and by extension endangered the lives of health workers.

Adelakun told Neusroom that in cases where a patient dies, she has learned to delegate the work of informing their families to male doctors to avoid being attacked.

She added that she stopped providing medical services to people in their homes in 2019 when she went to treat a young patient at home. After drawing blood to send to the laboratory for medical diagnosis, the boy fainted, an occurrence she said is not uncommon.

“When the boy came to life, his father whispered to me on my way out that I was lucky he did not die as I would have been buried with his son if he did not wake up. It was the most chilling thing I ever heard and I vowed never to step into anyone’s house to offer medical treatment.”

Japa wave and the dwindling number of medical practitioners

According to the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria, a 2022 survey has shown that nine out of every 10 medical and dental consultants with less than five years of experience plan to leave Nigeria in search of greener pastures. This wave of exit which has plagued the medical sector continues to put a strain on those who remain as they struggle to provide the best medical assistance despite their experience and training.

The number of doctors leaving Nigeria continues to grow by the year. The president of the Nigerian Medical Association, Uche Rowland, revealed in 2022 that more than 50,000 Nigerian doctors have left the country in eight years with 9,976 Nigerian doctors in the UK according to the country’s medical council. Nigeria has the highest number of foreign doctors in the UK after India and Pakistan while the US remains a top destination too.

There was controversy in 2021 when Saudi Arabia organised a recruitment process for Nigerian doctors, a process that attracted more than 500 doctors on the first day in Abuja. Although the minister of labour, Chris Ngige said there was nothing wrong with the mass movement of Nigerian doctors out of the country claiming many of them returned to the country better equipped, the NMA disagreed saying the country was experiencing a brain drain in the medical sector.

 

Adelakun believes one of the things fueling this exit is not just the better remuneration abroad but the confidence in the system to protect health workers.

She said: “Nigerian doctors are being sought after globally because we are well-trained. High patient mortality is not due to us being inefficient but because the system is difficult. The system cannot frustrate you and the same people who should understand your plight be looking to kill you. Ask any doctor and they will tell you they have had their own experiences in the hands of patients and their families. It’s a thankless job and you are always one medical situation from being attacked.”

Neusroom reached out to the minister of health, Dr Osagie Ehanire and the ministry on what they are doing about the growing attacks on medical doctors no response was provided.

Nigeria faces existential crises in the medical sector from low wages to being overwhelmed by the volume of the work. Multiple threats to their lives can result in more doctors leaving the shores of the nation in search of not only greener pastures but also safety and protection.