Psychiatric patients at the Neuropshyatric Hospital in Abeokuta, Ogun State, have protested what they described as poor treatment they receive at the Federal government facility located in Aro, the State capital.
The violent protest, which took the entire staff of the health facility by surprise, lasted over two hours before police operatives from the Lafenwa Divisional Headquarters intervened, and brought the situation under control.
In the commotion that ensued, a psychiatric doctor alongside three other nurses allegedly escaped being killed during the violent protest, over the alleged poor treatment they are daily subjected to at the facility.
Reports say the mentally unsound persons were protesting poor feeding, poor sanitary conditions, as unbearably poor electricity supply to the facility. More so without alternative power supply as back up.
Some relatives of the patients on admission said that the matter had been ongoing for a while before some of the partially healed patients resorted to protesting the situation even when it became obvious that the management of the health facility have no immediate solution.
Reports further said the patients pay between N500,000 and N700, 000 each, depending on the duration of their stay at the facility.
The Public Relations Officer of the facility, Ajibola dismissed the matter as “just an internal affair”, which has been redressed and is not worth being reported by the press.
But the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Lafenwa, Enatufe Omoh, said only one of the psychiatric doctors was assaulted, adding that he sustained injury from teeth bites by the protesting on-admission patients.
The police boss stated further that the protesters had disagreements with their handlers at the facility, having been denied some privileges, which included seeing their relations who would take them home upon discharge, as well as not being allowed to move around freely.
He said there was no death from the fracas.