By ADEKUNLE WILLIAMS

The Lagos State House of Assembly has said that anyone that is found culpable in the case of the missing intestine of Adebola Akin-Bright would be prosecuted in due course.

The Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, Mr Noheem Adams, made this disclosure to newsmen at the visit of members of the committee to the boy at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Lagos assembly, on Sept. 4, inaugurated a five-man ad hoc committee to investigate the case of a 12-year-old boy, Adebola Akin-Bright, whose small intestine allegedly went missing during his treatment.

NAN recalls that on Sept. 1, the mother of the boy, Abiodun Deborah, had cried out over the disappearance of her child’s small intestine during his treatment at the hospital.

Adams said the report of the committee would soon be made public, adding that some shocking discoveries were made in the course of its investigations.

“We came to LASUTH on the directives of the Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, to see the health status of Adebola Akin-Bright.

“We want to thank Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu because we heard that he has been calling to know the status of the boy, apart from providing money for his care.

“A committee was setup by the assembly to investigate the incident and the mother alleged that the intestine was missing.

“We made some shocking discoveries in the course of our investigation but we will not make these known until we complete investigations.

“We discovered also some unusual things in the process, we will make them public for the whole world to see when we complete our investigations.

“The incident is very unusual but we want the boy to survive and the speaker is very interested in his survival too,” he said.

Adams stressed that the assembly wanted the boy to have a brighter future as his name was bright, and thanked the speaker for showing interest in the matter.

The lawmaker also thanked the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, the Chief Medical Director of LASUTH.

The chairman added that he also appreciated the certified surgeon that had been taking care of the boy, whom he said told the committee that there was a little improvement in his condition.

He, however, expressed worry over the condition of the boy, and said that “anybody that is found culpable will be prosecuted.”

Also commenting, Abayomi, thanked Obasa for setting up the committee, saying that they have had a series of interactions on the boy and were gathering the necessary information on the incident.

“I want to also thank the Chief Medical Director of the hospital because if not for their efforts, the boy would not have survived till today, which is why we can still talk about him.

“He is stable but he cannot absorb his own food and that is why he is being fed with artificial food,” he said.

The Surgeon In-charge of the boy’s treatment, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabanwo, told journalists that all hands have been on deck to save him.

Fabanwo stressed that as a tertiary hospital, they have a lot of experts, including pediatricians, who looked after children, those that look after the heart, kidney and others, adding that everybody is involved in Akin-Bright’s case.

He said; “As we speak, the condition of the boy is stable, though we are spending a lot of money to keep him alive. The governor has been very magnanimous to provide the funding.

“The committee’s chairman has told you that there are things to be done in definitive terms but that will be discussed at a higher level,” he said.

Adebola’s mother expressed appreciation to Sanwo-Olu, the speaker of the house, as well as all the doctors that had been treating the boy.

She said: “Everything about the health conditions of my child has changed since the visit of the governor and all hands have been on deck to ensure that Adebola survives.

“I am hopeful that he will survive. I want to thank the governor, and the speaker. I am so grateful that they rose to attend to Adebola’s case.”

Adeola’s mother said she was losing hope at the initial stage but now she wanted to thank them for their support. (NAN)

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