‘One chance' is commonly used in Nigeria to refer to fraud or scam in Nigeria, especially when a group of criminals picks up passengers waiting for a taxi or bus, with the aim of robbing or defrauding them.
Rev'd Joseph Olorunfemi, the father of the late Greatness Olorunfemi, a victim of a chance attack said his first daughter, was planning to relocate to the United States to further her education by earning a PhD in Microbiology before she was killed.
‘One chance' is commonly used in Nigeria to refer to fraud or scam in Nigeria, especially when a group of criminals picks up passengers waiting for a taxi or bus, with the aim of robbing or defrauding them.
During a press conference organised by Young African Leadership Initiatives (YALI) Network on Thursday in Abuja, Olorunfemi who is the General Overseer of Christ Restoration Gospel Centre, Abaranje Ikotun, Lagos, called on the Nigerian government and police to conduct a thorough investigation into the negligence of the Maitama General Hospital which led to his daughter’s death.
He said the last discussion he had with Greatness was on Saturday, September 23, 2023, via a conference call with two other friends based in the US, who had offered to assist and facilitate her admission into a school there.
"She delivered her profile and a decision was made that she will commence her PhD in Microbiology in July 2024. We ended the meeting with excitement and by Monday, September 25, she began supplying necessary documents to facilitate the relocation," Olorunfemi said.
He said he had a premonition of danger hovering around his family which prompted him to summon an online prayer session for the family members including Greatness during which they prayed to avert the impending evil.
"We did not know that it was irreversible. God is not our errand boy who must do what we ask him to do. He will only do what he thinks fit to do.
“He is a giver of life and he takes life without anybody's permission,” he said.
The cleric recounted how the driver who brought her daughter to the hospital gave a narration different from what a nurse reported. He said the driver confirmed that Greatness was not dead at the time of their arrival at the Abuja hospital but that the accident and emergency unit locked them out unattended to and demanded a police report before she could be attended to.
He said it was during the delay that she passed on.
The clergyman noted that his account was supported by video clips and voice recordings that have now gone viral online.
Olorunfemi said, "The officers of Young African Leadership Initiatives (YALI) represented by Mrs Moyo, (leader of YALI) Irene and Darlington also came and met me at Mabuchi District and we all met in the office of the DPO (Divisional Police Officer) of Mabuchi Station where they presented the video and audio recordings on the incident that terminated the life of one of their members.
"The DPO thereafter summoned SPA Busari, the District crime officer to write the hospital and invite the workers on duty for interrogation. He also collected the mobile lines of Greatness and promised that a necessary investigation would be conducted for justice to be done.
"Greatness was my first child and first daughter; she was well-educated and talented. Becoming a victim of a ‘one chance’ operation was not premeditated but being denied immediate treatment by the General Hospital Maitama was inhuman, cruel, unjust, negligent and a disregard for human life.
"Many people have come out to mention their late relatives and friends who had been treated like Tolulope (Greatness) and died on the grounds of ‘no police report’. If this trend continues, it will have negative implications."
He added that though his daughter was gone, they were demanding justice because someone else could be the next victim.