The agony of Susan Idoko-Okpe, Benue COVID-19 index case held in isolation for 57 days
It’s been nearly two months since Susan Idoko-Okpe (nee Lawani) has been subjected to agonising and traumatic experience since her return to Nigeria from the United Kingdom on March 22, 2020.
A few days after her arrival to give her mother a befitting burial, having missed a chance to do same for her late father some years back, she has been held at different isolation centres in Benue and Abuja over claims that she tested positive for COVID-19. 57 days after, Susan is yet to return home.
As at today, she is the only Nigerian known to have spent such number of days at the isolation centre, another patient close is the son of former Vice President, Mohammed Atiku-Abubakar who spent 40 days and has been discharged. 56-year-old Susan, a Briton, who is said to have been living in London since 1997, arrived Lagos on March 22 and headed for Abuja, from there she proceeded to Benue state to participate in the funeral of her late mother Princess Omokwutu Lawani, earlier slated for April 2.
Who is Susan Lawani:
Her LinkedIn profile says she is an “independent religious teacher, public speaker and mentor”, and she studied at Benue State Polytechnic and University of Plymouth.
According to information on the London Gazette, one of the official journals of record of the British government, Susan is the Director of Susan Winners’ Ventures Ltd, a private limited company which specialises in “general secondary education”. The company, which was incorporated on May 26, 2018, is located at Romford in UK.
She is from the Lawani family, a popular name in Benue politics. Prominent figures from the family include Senator Steven Lawani, a former Deputy Governor of the State, and Dr Felix Lawani, Susan’s elder brother, a Forensic Pathologist and former Director General of Nigerian Institute of Tripanosomiasis Research, Kaduna.
Timeline of her isolation turned detention:
According to a petition written by human rights lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) to the Health Minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire, demanding her release, on March 24, Susan checked into Grace Cottage Hospital, in Makurdi, after complaining of headache and fatigue and that was where trouble started.
Based on the standard procedure, she was tested for COVID-19 by officials of the State Ministry of Health on March 25 and advised to stay at the hospital for the result, expected to be ready in 24 hours, she obliged. Two days after on March 27, she was informed that her test returned positive, but the doctor could not provide the result as demanded by Susan, he claimed he was only informed verbally and she started raising suspicions.
On March 28, Governor Samuel Ortom violated the protocol associated with the protection of identity of suspected and confirmed case when he went on-air to announce Susan’s name as the state’s index case without her consent. Ortom’s action has been widely criticised by many Nigerians who said it could cause stigmatisation for the patient. Susan rejected the result, casted doubt on the sincerity of the Benue State government, and requested that she be transferred to Abuja. Based on the request, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, ordered her transfer to the National Hospital, Abuja where she has been kept since.
In several videos shared on social media by Susan, she alleged that she is being detained against her will by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). In a post on her Facebook page last week, she raised concern that “no member of the Lawani’s that I had contact with and the Grace Cottage Hospital staff and doctor has Coronavirus and I’m 48days locked up Please NCDC I have young children. Even if they sold me, release me NOW BIKO.”
She posted another video on Tuesday wondering what the authorities really want to do with her. She claimed she has taken five tests, “My last test was on Thursday May 14, the NCDC came and took my samples and up till this moment nobody has attended to me nor given me my result, and I’m wondering what exactly are they doing with me.”
What could be wrong?
Her family has condemned the way the government is handling her case and accused authorities of subjecting Susan to trauma and stigmatisation. Dr Felix Lawani lamented that his sister was psychologically traumatised.
Could there be any political undertone to her incarceration? We may not be able to say, but her recent comment on Mike Omoniyi’s LinkedIn video about overcoming anxiety suggests that.
“Locked up somewhere and am (sic) not suppose to talk,” she wrote. “1. Because am a Christian I must take all things. 2. Protect family political name.”
She also shared the post with a caption asking “How do you deal with forceful detention?”
The House of Representatives has also waded into Susan’s case. Following the unanimous adoption of motion of Matters of Public Importance by Rep. Blessing Onuh (APGA-Benue) at plenary last Tuesday, House directed NCDC to critically evaluate her with a view to discharging her. A week after this directive, she is still being held.
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), who petitioned the Health Minister in April over Susan’s case declined to comment on the issue when Neusroom asked him for update about his petition. “I’m not able to comment on this matter for now please,” he told Neusroom via SMS.
Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, while speaking on a webinar monitored by Neusroom on Wednesday, explained why the centre does not release result to patients.
“We don’t release result to patients, we forward to the State Epidemiologist who use the outcome to take public health action,” Ihekweazu said. “This is different from doctor and patient relationship where doctors can tell a patient what the outcome of a test is and also present such result to the patient, COVID-19 is a public health issue.”
Spokesperson of NCDC, Emeka Oguanuo, also told Neusroom that “management of cases is the responsibility of state teams and in this case, the FCT public health team where she is currently being managed”.
