By Umar Salam.
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on Sunday, paid a condolence visit to the Owolabi family in Zaria, to commiserate with them over the tragic loss of their son, Precious Owolabi who was killed by stray bullet during a clash between security operatives and Shi’ites protesters in Abuja last Monday.
The Vice President, who was accompanied by Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Ibrahim Shuaibu, top security chiefs and traditional leaders, described the death as a national tragedy that would never be forgotten in history.
Responding to Osinbajo’s condolence message, the father of the late Channels TV reporter, Mr. Ayo Owolabi, blamed his son’s death on the absence of the doctor who was meant to perform surgery on his son after he was stabilized at Garki hospital.
He called for a probe of the hospital’s management, in order to ascertain why the doctor was absent from duty during an emergency, and also to know what steps have been taken on the doctor’s action.
“There is nothing anyone can do in a situation like this. One has to take it as one of those challenges of life. I felt pained.
“The only thing that made me sad outside the event was that, when I learnt about what happened immediately after he was shot.
“He was taken to the first hospital where they said they could not handle his case and was referred to Garki hospital where he was attended to and was stabilised.
“But the doctor, who was supposed to do surgery on him, was far away. Possibly if he was available, the boy’s life would have been saved and that would have saved us from this agony we found ourselves in for the past one week.
“I would have loved to find out why the doctor was not around. And what step has the management of that hospital taken on that doctor’s action.
“I saw the boy in a video sitting down, holding his tommy and bleeding. But the doctor to do the surgery was nowhere to be found,” he said.