By Sunday Donatus, Lafia

James Negedu, a medical doctor doctor, has been remanded in the Lafia prison for the death of a member of the National Youth Service Corps , Pascaline Madueke , in the Lafia area of Nasarawa State.

Madueke , who was a Batch ‘ C’ corps member that served in Adogi , Lafia East development area of the state , was said to have lost her life following a surgical operation at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia.

It was learnt that the deceased, who had complained of headache, abdominal pain and malaria, was rushed to a private clinic for treatment , before she was referred to the specialist hospital where she died .

During an interview with our correspondent , Negedu said the deceased’ s uncle , one Ndubuisi, brought her to his clinic on January 18 , adding that Madueke complained of headache, abdominal pain , typhoid , malaria and general body pain .

The doctor stated that after conducting some tests on her , she was given some drugs.

He noted that when her condition worsened , a scan was carried out which revealed that she had a pelvic inflammatory disease, as well as a five – month- old dead foetus in her womb.

Negedu said , “ After the scan was carried out, I discovered that the deceased didn’ t tell me that she was pregnant. I referred her to the DASH (Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital) with a note containing the details of the incident .

“ She was operated at the gynecology and obstetrics department of the DASH , but she died the following day. ”

The doctor, while contesting his detention , stated that he referred the corps member to another hospital because he could no longer manage her .
He said: “ The doctor that carried out the operation on her has been moving freely without any arrest and prosecution . Why should I be detained for referring her to a government hospital?”

When contacted , the Nasarawa State NYSC Coordinator , Zainab Isa, said Madueke died after a surgery , adding that she did not know the cause of her death.

She said , “ I discovered that she died three days before I was informed about her case . I got to know about the incident through the Anambra State coordinator of the scheme who said that some people came to her office in Anambra and informed her that a corps member who was serving in Nasarawa State had died on January 24, 2019 .