Tempers rose and tears flowed freely yesterday following the death of a fresh medical doctor, barely 24 hours after graduating from the University of Lagos. He was stabbed on Thursday by suspected hoodlums but gave up the ghost yesterday.
The victim, Dr Stephen Urueye, was a house officer at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital(LUTH).
Two suspects have already been arrested by the police in connection with the murder.
Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), who described those arrested as “hoodlums,” said they were arrested at the spot where the late Urueye was stabbed.
According to his colleagues at LUTH,he was the only child of his mother, who is a widow.
Urueye, the house officers said, just got an alert of his first salary as house officer the day he was stabbed by the robbers.
The Nation learnt that he was stabbed near the teaching hospital’s gate, Idi-Araba, Mushin, while returning to LUTH by armed robbers, who wanted to dispossess him of his valuables.
With blood gushing out from his thigh, he ran into the LUTH compound where he was taken to the Accident and Emergency Centre (A&E).
He was later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
There, his fellow house officers and senior doctors battled all through the night to save him.
Their efforts proved futile when he gave up the ghost around 3am yesterday.
Emotions ran high in LUTH, Idi-Araba, yesterday as soon as news of his death broke; his colleagues momentarily protested his death.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions calling for justice for the victim.
According to them, Idi-Araba has been overtaken by armed thugs.
They called on the government and security agencies to beef up security in the area.
Some of his colleagues and other Nigerians yesterday took to Twitter to lament Urueye’s murder and also seek justice for him with the hashtag #JusticeForStephen.
The protesters lamented that they have complained severally to the management of the hospital as regards incessant attacks of fellow students in Idi-Araba by armed hoodlums.
A 500-level Nursing student at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL), Harrison Udeh, said Urueye was stabbed around 9pm on Thursday.
Udeh said the late Urueye “was outside between 8 and 9pm along the Canal near LUTH gate. Apparently, he was assailed by robbers. I think there was a struggle and he was stabbed by the robbers at the Femoral Artery (Femoral Artery is a large artery in the thigh and the main arterial supply to the thigh and leg. It enters the thigh from behind the inguinal ligament as the continuation of the external iliac artery.) That led to bleeding and he had to run to the gate and he was taken to the teaching hospital. His (Urueye’s) classmates with other doctors (because his classmates are class officials too) attended to him. They tried PR (Preliminary Restoration) for three hours but at the end of the day, we lost him. It was sad. He gave up between 3am and 4am. . Actually, 3:43am was the time we were given by his classmates as the time of passage.”
The protest, he said, was to draw the attention of the management to the insecurity in the area.
“This morning (yesterday), we all decided that something had to be done because people have complained about being robbed along the road. Students have been beaten along this road and it has been happening frequently. The Chief Security Officer for LUTH said reports have been made to the Itire Police Station. There are patrols along the area but the problem with the patrol is that the hoodlums or the robbers can actually watch out for when the patrol passes and do whatever they wanted to do after the patrol has passed. So, it is not an effective way of curbing the robbery incidents. They’re supposed to have a police vehicle stationed along the route because it is a hot spot for robberies,” he said.
DSP Elkana said the two suspects were arrested immediately after the matter was reported to the police.
“They are hoodlums. The incident happened yesterday (Thursday) and we got their report yesterday. He (The late Urueye) left the school, he was going with his friends to somewhere. He was attacked by some hoodlums around the lagoon. They snatched his phone and stabbed him. Then, he subsequently died in the hospital while receiving treatment,” he said.
The late Urueye’s colleagues and students held a Candle Light for him last night with a call on the government to bring the perpetrators to book.
They equally called on the management of LUTH and UNILAG to ensure adequate security for the students and the doctors.
