The family of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) index case in Benue State has come out to fault the test result released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for Susan Okpe Idoko Lawani (Mrs.).
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) recalls the NCDC reported a case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Benue on 28th March, and the State Governor, Samuel Orton, during a press conference announced name of the index case as Susan Okpe.
Meanwhile, family of Mrs Okpe has alleged that the Government of Benue is imposing the COVID-19 positive test result on their daughter.
TNG gathered that at the moment neither Mrs Okpe, her family, nor Cottage Hospital Makurdi, where she was admitted had seen the COVID-19 test result, which has been announced.
Dr Felix Lawani, an elder brother to Mrs. Okpe, a British citizen, told TNG that his sister is seriously agitated and that she is determined to see this through.
Dr. Lawani narrated to TNG that Mrs Okpe 54, who couldn’t visit Nigeria from London, her base since 1997 to bury her dad was emotional after losing her mum on the 6th of March, this year.
“She said she is coming to bury her mum despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Of course, she, herself and her children in the UK had quarantined themselves and went for test and they were all negative, as a result of that she had the confidence to come,” Dr Lawani told TNG in a telephone conversation.
Mrs Okpe according to Dr Lawani left the UK on 19th March on Kenyan Airways. She was in Benue 24th March where she had a family meeting with her siblings and relations.
She later complained of feeling feverish and pains in her joints and was taken to the hospital where she was diagnosed of malaria and typhoid. She recovered after two days.
But the family led by Dr Lawani, who is a Forensic Pathologist and former Director General Nigerian Institute of Tripanosomiasis Research Kaduna, advised that in line with government directives she (Mrs Okpe) should be subjected to the Covid-19 test.
“The hospital agrees and immediately invited the Epidemiology Unit of the Benue State Ministry of Health who came on Wednesday and return on Thursday to carry out the test but the test results up till now has not reach Okpe and her family.
“By Saturday, no results of the test announced was given to us. We expect according to medical ethics that the hospital will receive the test result from the National Centre for Disease Control but no, what happened was that during the day (Saturday) the Governor (Samuel Ortorm) had a press conference where he announced that there was an Index case of Covid-19 in Benue, he mention her name as Susan Okpe, against all known protocols, it is in the news and before the hospital could get hold of that the hospital was invaded, was sieged by government’s officials including the deputy governor, the commissioner of health, the state action committee on Covid-19, the police and a crop of press men with Ambulances and co,” Dr Lawani narrated.
This apparently got Mrs Okpe agitated according to Lawani which made her confront the doctor for her test results. “The doctor claimed he has not see the test results”.
Dr Lawani told TNG that the hospital later claimed they received a phone call from some persons who claimed to be the representatives of NCDC saying that Mrs Okpe’s test result is “Weakly Positive”.
“We didn’t understand what it meant we asked where is the result, they said they sent an email to the hospital and copied the state government, but the hospital said they have not seen the mail,” Dr Lawani said.
Mrs Okpe kept agitating and later approached the deputy governor together with her siblings which according to Lawani the deputy governor said Okpe doesn’t look sick but for the interest of the public she has to be isolated.
Dr Lawani who expressed bitterness said the Benue state government has no plans for Covid-19 emergencies.
“They don’t have isolation centres…” he said. According to him his sister Okpe was taken to a small room where the doctor apologised to them to manage as this is the only facility available.
He said since his sister and the family have not seen the test results the agitation of the sister became necessary.
“My junior sister was scared whether they want to kill her. She has received threatening phone calls, people calling saying that we the Lawani family have brought Covid-19 to Benue.
“It’s very disheartening because we are a very prominent family on Benue State,” Dr Lawani said.
For now, Mrs Susan Okpe remains agitated. She has reportedly taken her case to the UK Consulate in Nigeria and have been calling on the UK government and the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in her case.
She insists she is Covid-19 Negative.
THE NEWS GURU