There have been reports of at least nine inmates escaping from Akure’s Ondo State Neuropsychiatric Hospital. On Saturday, according to Naijatrial’s reporting, the nine patients bolted from the hospital.
Residents in the neighbourhood were filled with panic after the occurrence, fearing for the city’s safety. The patients receiving treatment at the hospital managed to flee the premises because of the inadequate security measures in place.
“Where we usually keep them is not that secured,” stated an anonymous staff member. If the state government does not take immediate action, you can expect to see a large number of these patients on Akure’s streets.
The source bemoaned the deteriorating situation at the facility and urged Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to intervene in an interview with Naijatrial. The source had a cousin who was a patient there.
Please, state government, assist us in fixing the security system. It’s horrifying that after a few days we discover our patients on the street.
Like everyone else, I spent around N200,000 to bring a relative back here on Monday. It is deeply troubling that patients are able to flee public hospitals with complete knowledge of their illnesses and the dangers they pose to society when they are out and about, he expressed his disapproval.
No response could be obtained from the state’s Special Adviser on Health, Professor Simidele Odimayo, as of the report’s filing date.
The patient allegedly beat Chief Medical Director Akinwumi Akinloye, three nurses, and doctor Akinwumi Akinloye to coma in 2018, as reported by Naijatrial.