The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday, September 19, said it has made a shocking discovery during its investigation to unravel the circumstances that led to the missing intestine of 12-year-old Adebola Akin-Bright.
The ad-hoc committee chairman, Hon. Noheem Adams made this known while speaking with reporters during the visit of members of the ad-hoc committee of the House to Akin-Bright at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.
Adams said some shocking discoveries were made during its investigations, adding that the report of the committee would soon be made public.
He noted that anyone found culpable in the case of the missing intestine of Akin-Bright would be prosecuted in due course.
He said: “We came to LASUTH on the directives of the speaker, Rt. Hon Mudashiru Obasa, to see the health status of Adebola Akin-Bright.
“We want to thank Governor 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 set up 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 some unusual things in the process, and 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 Mr. Speaker is very interested in his survival too.”
Adams stressed that the Assembly wants the boy to have a brighter future as his name is Bright, and thanked the speaker of the House for showing interest in the boy’s health.
The legislator expressed gratitude to Commissioner for Health Akin Abayomi, Chief Medical Director of LASUTH Adetokunbo O. Fabamwo, and Williams, the certified surgeon caring for the boy.
He mentioned that Williams informed the committee about a slight improvement in the boy’s condition.
He, however, expressed worry over the condition of the boy, and said that “anybody that is found culpable on the matter would be prosecuted.”
Also commenting, Abayomi, thanked Speaker Obasa for setting up the committee, saying that they have had a series of interactions with the boy and are gathering the necessary information on the incident.
Abayomi said: “I want to also thank the CMD 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.
“We have a situation where he is stable, but he cannot absorb his food and that is why he is being fed with artificial food.
“He has a good team around him and he is doing well. I also want to thank the Governor for all the support he has been giving us so that we can do all that we can do as human beings and as professionals to save Akin-Bright, but there are limitations to what we can do,” he said.
The surgeon in charge of the boy’s treatment, Professor Adetokunbo Fabanwo, told reporters that all hands were on deck to save him, stressing that as a tertiary hospital, they have a lot of experts, including pediatricians, who he said look 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 boy’s condition is stable, though we are spending a lot of money to keep him alive. Mr. Governor has been very magnanimous in providing the funding.
“The Committee Chairman has told you that there are things to be done in definitive terms, but that would be discussed at a higher level.”
In her comment, Akin-Bright’s mother, Mrs Deborah Akin-Bright, expressed her appreciation to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Speaker of the House, Rt Hon. Obasa, and all the doctors treating the boy.
“Everything 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 Speaker Obasa. I am so grateful that they rose to attend to Adebola’s case. I was losing hope initially, but now I want to thank them for their support.”