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Tag: coroner’s inquest

  • Coroner’s inquest: Nurse lied over drugs he gave Adeleke, says Police forensic expert

    Coroner’s inquest: Nurse lied over drugs he gave Adeleke, says Police forensic expert

    The coroner inquest into the death of the Late Senator Isiaka Adeleke sitting in Osogbo was on Friday told that the Nurse who treated the former Governor of Osun was economical with the truth about the quantity of drugs and how it was administered on the deceased before his death.

    This was even as the police stated that it is the normal and standard practice that when Form B and C are served on pathologists, the report of the autopsy is to be submitted to the police and not family members as it is in the present case of Late Senator Adeleke.

    At the resumed Coroner hearing,  Osun Police Command held that the essence of submitting the report to the police, upon a request for autopsy, is that it will enable the police when necessary, to pursue criminal prosecution, hence the duplication and submission of such to the State Ministry of Justice for legal advice.

    The Coroner also heard that the Adeleke family did not order for the autopsy carried out on the deceased. Dr. Taiwo Olufemi Solaja who examined the deceased for autopsy, said he only acted on the orders of Coroner Dorcas Ajiboye.

    Aderibigbe, who claimed to be a Chief Nursing Officer at Comprehensive Health Centre, Edunabon, Osun State, had during his evidence before the Coroner Inquest set up by the Osun State Government to probe Adeleke’s death yesterday (Thursday) denied administering Gentamicine on the senator while treating him for gout.

    The Nurse said he diluted Hydrocortisone in fluid and gave Metamyzole, Diazepam, Pentazocine and Analgin intramuscular to the deceased.

    Police toxicology report on the pathological examination carried out on the deceased by Mr. Benedict Agbu, a police forensic expert, revealed that Adeleke was administered with Gentamicine before his death.

    The report which was admitted in exhibit at the coroner disclosed that Metamyzole, Diazepam, Pentazocine and Analgin were administered on Adeleke intravenously against Aderibigbe’s claim.

    Analyses of the findings in the blood and urine samples taken from Adeleke’s corpse, as contained in the toxicology report proved negative result for the presence of chlorinated hydrocarbon herbicides, organo-paosforous pesticide, rodenticides, metallic poison, cynide and tri-cylic anti depressants.

    The report which was read at the Coroner by a Superintendent of Police, Mr. Moses read in part, “The digested food particles were found in the gastric content but no drug particle was found in the exhibit.

    “Diazepam, Pentazocine, Analgin, Hydrocortisone and Gentamicine were confirmed in the blood and urine samples submitted.

    “Metamyzole and its Metabolites 27.2ug/ml, Hydrocortisone 9.25ug/ml, Gentamicin 17.4ug/ml, Pentazocine 4.5ug/ml, Diazepam 12.2 ug/ml, also urine Diazepam concetration 7.1ug/ml.

    “Fatalities have been reported at the following blood concentration: Metamyzole (Analgin) 22.0ug/ml, Pentazocin, 1.2ug/ml, Gentamicin 12ug/ml, Diazepam, 5.0ug/ml, hydrocortisone, 3.7ug/ml.

    “The presence of alcohol was also confirmed in the blood, urine and gastric content with concentration of 450ug/ml, 215ug/ml and 562ug/ml respectively. The blood concentrations of the drugs are above the levels known to cause fatalities.

    “The confirmation of Diazepam, Pentazocine, Hydrocortisone and alcohol with the established concentration in the body of the deceased is capable of producing a fatal Synergetic Hypertensive and respiratory depressive effect. With the route of the delivery (intravenous) of the drugs, the effect will be sudden and capable of occurring in minutes.

    “Such fatalities have been reported in literature. The low concentrations of the substances in the gastric content are as a result of the route of administration of the drugs.”

    However, the toxicology reports, Aderibigbe’s statement with the Police, reply of the Principal of the School of Nursing, Osogbo for the confirmation of Aderibigbe’s Nursing certificate were produced at the Coroner inquest and were all admitted as exhibits CE6A, CE6B, CE6C and CE6D.

    Meanwhile, a lawyer who was observing the proceeding, Dr. Basiru Ajibola, urged the Coroner to call back Aderibigbe for clarifications on his evidence which contradicts the toxicology report.

    But the Coroner, Magistrate Olusegun Ayilara said there was no need to call Aderibigbe back because the coroner would work on the reports and evidence admitted so far, just as he called on members of the public to submitt memorandum on the matter.

    Also, a Consultant Anatomic Pathologist from Ladoke Akintola Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), Solaja has denied the claim that the late Senator Isiaka Adeleke’s family ordered for the autopsy carried out on the deceased.

    Solaja, while testifying on Friday before Coroner stated that none of the family of the deceased ever asked him to conduct the post mortem.

    “ I was served the autopsy forms by the police and it was signed by Coroner Dorcas Ajiboye. Since it was the Coroner who ordered the autopsy, I am entitled to submit the autopsy report back to her via the police, not to any family member or anybody else”, he added.

    Asked if the deceased’s family were aware Coroner ordered for the autopsy, Solaja said they should be as he was served the forms by the police in their presence.

  • Adeleke family advised to support coroner’s inquest

    Adeleke family advised to support coroner’s inquest

    A group has advised the adeleke family to support the coroner’s inquest into the death of senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke.
    It said the family should back the coroner inquest by the government to unravel the cause of his death.
    The advice was given by the Coalition of Oodua Self Determination Group (GOSEG) in a statement in Oshogbo. It was signed by the Chairman of its coordinating council, Comrade Ifedayo Ogunlana, and Secretary, Comrade Rasak Olookoba.
    The organisation said in advanced societies, when an incident of such happened, it was only a coroner’s inquest that would unravel the cause of the death.
    It added: “The sudden demise of Senator Adeleke has thrown up many issues, as it was untimely and more so with the foul play being suspected. We hail the government for setting up a coroner’s inquest to unravel the mystery behind the sudden death of the senator. It is pertinent to call on the Adeleke family not to condemn the coroner’s inquest, but support the government in the pursuit of truth.
    “A responsible and responsive government  having interest in knowing the cause of the death of one of its prominent citizens has set up the coroner’s inquest to bring out the real reason behind the death.
    “Our position remains  that the family, though pained by the death, should join the government  to unravel the mystery  behind the death and if it suspects attempt by the government to politicise or doctor it, can call on the government to include their representative in the panel.”
    The group said as  Yoruba  people, highly knowledgeable and educated, traditional means could be used to reveal the causes of the death.
    It added: “A  normal practice now in a sane clime in the event of sudden death like this, is for the government to set up an inquest.
    “The family should, therefore, cooperate with the government in this task of unravelling  the real cause of Senator Adeleke’s death. As a politician of huge followership, there will be divergent opinions as to the real cause of his death. It’s only a coroner’s inquest that can reveal the actual cause of the senator’s death.”

    COSEG also advised politicians not to create unnecessary tension over the death of the amiable senator who was adjudged by all to be peace-loving and accommodating.
    It said, “Politicians should desist from playing politics with this unfortunate development but to join the government in the task of unravelling  the cause or causes of his death,rather than blaming each other for the death of Senator Adeleke.”
    The group also commiserated with the family, government  and people of the state of Osun over the unfortunate incident and prayed for peaceful repose of his soul.

  • Aregbesola signs Isiaka Adeleke inquest order

    Aregbesola signs Isiaka Adeleke inquest order

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola yesterday signed an executive order setting up a coroner’s inquest into the death of Senator Isiaka Adeleke under the Coroner Law, Cap. 32, Vol. I, Law of Osun, 2002.
    The governor also appointed Mr Olusegun Ayodele, a Magistrate, as the head of the inquest.
    He directed that the inquest be carried out in Osogbo, the state capital, within three weeks.
    Aregbesola said the inquest became necessary because of the suddenness and the circumstances surrounding the death he governor said a coroner’s inquest was a long established procedure dating back to the eighth century and was applied in the interest of the community to investigate sudden, natural and unexplained deaths.
    He said: “A sudden and an unexplained death of a person of high status must be investigated and documented.
    “Therefore, the status of our brother, the late Senator Isiaka Adeleke, the suddenness and the circumstances of his death, would propel a responsible government to set up an inquest to unravel the circumstances of his death.
    “History will not be kind to us as a government if we fail to do the inquest into the circumstances surrounding his death.
    “We must do this for historical purposes because it is in the general interest of the community and state to investigate any sudden or unnatural death of this nature.”
    The Solicitor General of Osun and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Mrs Abiola Adewemimo, said the circumstances and the suddenness of Adeleke’s death necessitated the coroner’s inquest.
    She said the inquest would ascertain the cause of death of the former governor, adding that the governor, by virtue of the Coroner Law, was empowered to order such inquest in the circumstance.
    Mrs Adewemimo said: “The state is still reeling in shock at the sudden demise of our dear Serubawon, the late Senator Isiaka Adeleke.
    “The circumstance and the suddenness of Adeleke’s death call for the setting up of an inquest to ascertain the cause of his death in the interest of our state.”

  • A coroner’s inquest

    A coroner’s inquest

    The issue is less partisan because it is more so. I am referring to the election of the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum that held a little over a week ago. It is easy to tag it as an opposition versus establishment saga, a grudge match between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi, or a signal of the impending battle to the death between the APC and PDP.

    It is all that. Who would deny that the opposition did not gloat at Jonathan’s frustration when his candidate, the ex-military officer Jonah Jang, fell dismally in front of his colleagues? This is so especially when they anticipated a coronation but had a coroner for their ambition to take over the governors’ forum. They did not yield ambition to grace.

    The first plot was to ask Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi to step down as chairman before the election. That would have brought a vacuum. Then they would have said, let us appoint a caretaker, and one of the 16 who voted for Jang could have taken charge. Then like the last meeting when they did not have the numbers to oust Governor Amaechi in a fair contest, they could have declared that an election should hold at a later date. By that move, they would have accomplished what President Jonathan mandated: oust Amaechi for anyone else.

    But Amaechi knew this and said he would not step down but asked the director general of the forum, Asissana Okauru, to conduct the election. Do the governors or president step down because of election?

    That was the first indication that the anti-Amaechi forces were nervous. Election is a ritual. They did not want to yield shenanigan to the ritual of democracy. That was the first instance of failure.

    The second was when Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko turned himself into an adversary of secret ballot and an evangelist of open ballot. The man, who is unraveling as the quisling of the west to his Ondo State people, knew that he could not trust the so-called 19 whose names were fraudulently listed on an advert in the media. He was clearly one of the 16. The so-called 19 is what I call apocrypha. It was a false document by a false people.

    Well, Mimiko failed and the election took place. That was failure number two. The third instance was that they relied on hearsay, since they did not expect the world outside to know what happened in the entrails of the room. They could paint white black and black white, and it would be one person’s word against another.

    But the grassroots governor, Rauf Aregbesola, had a joker. It was camera. He captured the story as Okaura first counted all 35 ballots and separated the votes for Jang and Amaechi. The returning officer showed the ballot to the governors to see as he counted.

    When he finished, the votes favoured Amaechi. The pro-Jonathan forces were stunned. This was failure number three for the anti-Amaechi forces. Mimiko and company wanted open ballot but secrecy from the outside world, a philosophical contradiction. With his phone, Ogbeni struck a triumph of technology over the luddites.

    Those who cannot anticipate technology cannot anticipate the future. The camera phone blindsided them. They are still playing the Luddite. For those who don’t know, luddites were those who opposed new technology at the height of the industrial revolution. Chief among them is the quisling Mimiko who said the tape was manipulated because he was not featured. Only megalomaniacs want to see themselves in every picture.

    If they failed in technology, they also failed in mathematics. Suddenly, 16 was 19 and 19 was 16. It reminds one of Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s classic, A man from the Underground, who marveled at how mathematics had been turned on its head by the civilisation. He noted that one plus one was no longer two but the beginning of death. That was what the anti-Amaechi people tried to do. They said because they had 19 endorsements then it meant they had 19 votes. They lost a sense of sequence. Voting is not about a past but the moment.

    When Barack Obama trailed John McCain ahead of the polls, Americans knew that it did not count until the day of counting. The pro-Jang men counted their chickens before they were hatched. On hatching day, they brooded over the roost and saw that they were sorely routed. They hurriedly ran an advertisement that showed that some governors who were out of town, like Gaidam of Yobe State, had become spirits that materialised to vote in Abuja. That was failure number five. They failed mathematics. They failed English because they did not understand the simple rules of the game. They failed communications because they lied after it happened, and they failed technology for acting like luddites. So, they failed the exam.

    What is NGF? It is actually a pressure group of governors. Other than that, it is nothing. Mimiko said its election in the past was based on consensus. Can he explain how they allowed a former colleague who is now president to throw cat among their pigeons? Was it against their rule for Amaechi to earn a second term? Did Mimiko himself not play quisling to get a second term as governor? When did it become a sin? Yoruba say K’e j’obi gbua gbua. (say it as it is.) Would there have been a tiff if President Jonathan was at peace with Governor Amaechi? Is this not petty politics? The irony is that Jonathan climbed its back to power, and he does not care, in his Machiavellian way, to destroy it now. That is not statesmanship.

    As for Jang, he was a sad tool. He capped it by thanking God for giving him a fraud. God of Old Testament would have made him regret. “Because sentence against an evil act is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons of men are full set in them to do evil.” Ecclesiastes 8:11.

    The reason this is less partisan because it is more so is this: it is less partisan because it reveals the maggoty underside of our politics, especially electoral politics, whatever the party. When 35 people in a small room cannot agree on an election that was so transparent, are we not wasting our time with elections involving millions in a wide swath of land? It is because it is so partisan that we saw all of this.

    So we know that it is not about NGF but about the man at the top. It is about a man who said he would retain the integrity of governance in Rivers State and not be dictated to from the centre. Was that not the reason Mimiko gave for his so-called principle? Why is he playing slave to a new master?

    It is about Amaechi’s stance about Okrika, and his position that the waterside must not remain a slum even if an unconstitutional first lady hectors inelegantly at him. It is about his pursuit of what he sees as his right to defend the oil wells of his state when the president forgets that he is the leader of all of Nigeria and not Bayelsa State. It is about a man who says he must assert his dignity as a man. It reminds one of the classic by Primo Levi titled If This Is A Man, meditating on how he asserted his humanity in the dark, barbarous furnace of the Nazi concentration camp.

    But more telling is the story of Sir Thomas More, who stuck to principle when the Tudor King Henry V111, wanted him to renounce his belief because he wanted to change the law to marry a woman. More became a martyr that historian Hugh Trevor Roper described as the “most saintly of humanists and the most human of all saints.” Amaechi is not More, but he acts like a man for all seasons, understands the principle of asserting his manhood without capitulating. That is how to nourish democracy.