By The9jaTREND
Tears recently flowed among staff of Etsako West Local Government Area over what they described as a “double tragedy” suffered by one of their colleaques who lost his 15-year-old boy and the subsequent seizure of his corpse by Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital over an outstanding bill of N1.8 million.
The father of the deceased, Mr. Moses Eluniamien Ikhemien, a staff of Etsako West LGA, said he took his son to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, after noticing a swollen stomach and severe pain.
Following diagnosis and a few days of treatment, UBTH referred the boy to Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital where he was diagnosed with liver cancer and was placed on admission.
According to Mr. Moses, his son was admitted on July 2, 2026, and unfortunately died on July 21, 2026.
After mourning the loss, Mr. Moses made arrangements to convey the corpse home for burial. However, the hospital, which had deposited the body in its mortuary, withheld the corpse over the N1.8 million bill allegedly incurred within the 19 days of treatment.
Mr. Moses said the short period of admission had already cost him a fortune, including expenses on drugs and other needs outside the hospital bill.
In a bid to help, colleagues of the distraught council worker visited the hospital to negotiate the bill and offer support. They alleged that hospital officials refused to entertain them and claimed the actual bill was “over N3 million,” adding that it was magnanimous of the hospital to bring it down to N1.8 million.
Mr. Moses said he is currently indebted to many people who supported him during his son’s treatment and does not know where to get the money demanded to secure the release of the corpse for burial.
The incident has sparked concerns among residents and civil servants over hospital policies on the detention of corpses and the growing burden of medical costs on families.
Staff of Etsako West local government council are, however, appealing to the state government and others to intervene in the situation to ensure that Irrua Specialist releases the corpse for burial.
As of press time, efforts to get an official response from the management of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital were unsuccessful.
Irrua Specialist Hospital Withholds Corpse Of 15-Year-Old Over Unpaid Bill of N1.8m
