Uyo Church Tragedy: Govt Explains How Victims Were Saved

Ololade Adeyanju

The Akwa Ibom State government has explained why the casualty figure from the collapse of the Reigners Bible Church Inc., Uyo, on December 10, fell below what the public had envisaged, considering the enormity of the tragedy.

Authorities of the Ibom Specialist Hospital (ISH), Uyo, said the casualty was greatly reduced due to state-of-the-art facilities available in the hospital as well as the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Health and public-spirited members of the Nigerian Medical Association.

ISH is an ultra-modern medical facility established by the immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom State and the current Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

The state government put the death toll from the incident at 26. It also said 118 victims are still on admission in nine hospitals in Uyo, with 70 of them in ISH.

Fifty other victims have been treated and discharged.

The Medical Director of ISH, Dr. Yemi Johnson, in an interview, aknowledged the intervention of the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, who arranged for medical experts to be flown in from different parts of the country.

Johnson stated: “Medical experts flew in from different parts of the country to assist our team. The Honourable Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewale, sent in a team of medical personnel to assist in providing help to the victims. Private practitioners with proven track records in the medical profession were also quite helpful. But of course, the success we have recorded so far couldn’t have been possible if the hospital was not fully equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. The facilities made our job quite easy. We have the very best anywhere on the continent.”

Johnson further disclosed that the hospital successfully performed no fewer than 20 orthopaedic and 15 neurological emergency surgeries within hours of the incident.

Some of the survivors have also testified to the role played by the hospital in saving their lives and those of their loved ones.

One of them, Uko Imah, a member of the church stated: “But for Ibom Specialist Hospital, I would have lost my three kids. All thanks to God and the vision of the man that made this possible. Look at my children now, they are responding to treatment faster than expected.”

Another survivor, 66-year-old clergyman, Rev. Dominic Ekpe, stated: “I have been hearing about this hospital, but I never quite believed it was this efficient. I thought it was one of those scams politicians are known for. But my perception changed completely when I regained consciousness and discovered I was at ISH. When I was shown the pictures of how badly wounded I was brought in, I simply broke down in tears. I had no doubt my survival was a miracle.”

A lecturer at the University of Uyo, who gave her name simply as Mrs Efangha, also praised the hospital for her husband’s survival, given the condition he was brought to the hospital.

The mother of four stated: “Of course I know very well that it took the grace of God for my husband, who was already taken for dead, to be brought back to life. But the fact is that those in similar conditions that were taken to other hospitals did not make it. So, there is no way I will ever forget the role played by this hospital in keeping my husband alive.”

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