A Nigerian Army sergeant, identified as Patrick Yewah, has reportedly died after allegedly being denied access to a brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna over his inability to pay the required fee.
The development emerged in separate petitions submitted by serving soldiers to the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Defence, calling for an independent investigation into the hospital’s medical services and billing system.
The petitioners accused the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Brigadier General G.S. Ogoh, of introducing alleged unauthorised charges for medical services previously covered under the military’s healthcare arrangement.
According to the soldiers, serving military personnel, their wives and children had traditionally accessed covered medical services through the Defence Health Maintenance Limited (DHML) scheme without making direct payments.
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However, they alleged that soldiers and their dependants were recently required to pay for services including MRI scans, CT scans, Caesarean sections and delivery packs.
The soldiers claimed that Sergeant Yewah was admitted to the hospital’s Accident and Emergency section, where doctors requested a brain MRI scan to help determine his medical condition.
However, they alleged that the scan was not conducted because he could not afford the payment demanded by the hospital.
They further claimed that fellow soldiers and members of the barracks community later contributed money to assist him, but their intervention came too late as he eventually died.
The petitioners called for an independent medical investigation to establish whether the failure to conduct the scan contributed to his death and whether the hospital’s payment requirements complied with the applicable healthcare coverage.
A price list allegedly obtained from the hospital showed that a 1.5 Tesla MRI scan costs ₦100,000, while the amount payable under the 50 per cent NHIS arrangement was listed as ₦50,000.
The document also listed a 0.35 Tesla MRI scan at ₦70,000, with ₦35,000 payable under the same arrangement.
The soldiers also alleged that some personnel had paid ₦50,000 for MRI and CT scan services at the facility.
They further raised concerns over the hospital’s pharmacy operations, claiming that some medicines declared unavailable at the NHIS pharmacy could be purchased from another pharmacy allegedly owned by the hospital commander.
The petitioners also questioned an earlier investigation ordered by Army authorities, describing it as inadequate because investigators allegedly failed to conduct discreet interviews with affected soldiers and their families.
They claimed that some witnesses were discouraged from providing information about the allegations against the hospital management.
The soldiers also raised concerns over alleged attempts to influence the earlier investigation, calling for a fresh and impartial probe.
Among their demands were a review of the hospital’s medical charges, investigation into Yewah’s death, verification of the reported payments and redeployment of Brigadier General Ogoh if administrative failures were established.
They maintained that their complaints were aimed at protecting the welfare of military personnel and their families.
Attempts to reach the Army spokesperson, Colonel Onyechi Appolonia Anele, for comments were unsuccessful, as she reportedly did not answer calls or respond to a message sent to her.
The allegations have not been independently established.
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