The House of Representatives has on Tuesday commence investigation into the death of 28-year-old Moradeun Balogun, who was stabbed by armed robbers and allegedly denied treatment by a Lagos hospital.

The House also called on the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to investigate the matter and prosecute those found to have been responsible for her death.

Balogun was stabbed in the neck by the robbers in the Gbagada area on December 2, 2019, while returning from work.

It was gathered that the victim was rushed to R-Jolad Hospital, where she was allegedly not attended to because a police report was not presented by the Good Samaritans who came to her rescue.

The hospital had, however, refuted the claim that the victim was not attended to because of the non-presentation of a police report, adding that she was assessed by two doctors before she was referred to the Gbagada General Hospital for vascular surgery.

At the plenary on Tuesday, the lawmaker representing Epe Federal Constituency of Lagos State, Mr Olawale Raji, moved a motion on the matter, which was unanimously adopted.

The motion was titled ‘Urgent Need to Investigate the Alleged Refusal by the Management of R-Jolad Hospital Gbagada Lagos to Treat a Victim of Armed Robbery Attack, Miss Moradeun Balogun, Resulting in Her Death.’

Adopting the motion, the House mandated the Committee on Health Care Services to “expeditiously investigate the alleged refusal by the management of R-Jolad Hospital to provide immediate medical attention to Miss Moradeun on arrival at the hospital, which eventually led to her untimely death and report back to the House as soon as possible.”

The House also directed the IGP to “investigate, arrest and to prosecute all the perpetrators of this heinous act in line with the relevant provisions of the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017 and the Criminal Code Act.”

The lawmakers also observed a one-minute silence in honour of Balogun.

Moving the motion, Raji stated that the alleged refusal of medical attention to the victim was a violation of the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017.

He said, “The House is saddened that seven days after the incident, no arrest has been made by the Nigerian Police.

“The House is concerned that the conduct of doctors/hospitals in refusing medical attention to victims of gunshots and fatal attacks is a breach of the Hippocratic Oath sworn to by medical practitioners on induction.