A diabetic patient reportedly slumped and died at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja last Wednesday.
The woman whose name is mentioned as Mama Tobi in a report died at the airport on Wednesday just a few minutes before her flight to Lagos, Naija News understands.
Fingers have been pointed at officials at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, for allegedly refusing to attend to the passenger while she battled for her life inside the airport.
Vanguard quoted passengers at the terminal when the incident happened as saying that FAAN delayed in sending doctors to attend to the passenger before she passed on.
A witness whose name is revealed as Felix Ashimole, told the media that FAAN refused to provide medical attention when it was needed most by the passenger.
“For 13 minutes, no FAAN medical personnel. She died in my hands and a few others. A medical doctor on his way to Kano tried but as he finally said, ‘we lost her,” the eyewitness said.
He added: “But she would’ve been saved, had FAAN provided basic insulin. She was diabetic. Her sugar went high; she entered a coma; no medical attention; she saw the light and moved towards it. We kept calling her, Mama Tobi, Mama Tobi, don’t leave us, wake up, Good morning but saliva trickled down, foams bubbled and I knew she had seen a better place and wouldn’t be coming back.
“FAAN and the entire airline staff on the ground were stupidly acting as if è no concern them. They kept announcing boarding and never used their speaker to ask if there is any medical personnel on the ground. Finally, they brought an ambulance from their fire fighting department to take her corpse away.”
Reacting, however, the acting General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, Voke Ivbaze, who was contacted on the phone concerning the incident, confirmed the woman slumped and died.
She, however, argued that the authority intervened as fast as it could.
She said: “FAAN regrets that this kind of thing happened. But she was a passenger that already had a condition and anything could just happen to anybody.
“However, don’t expect that there are doctors around in the hall at every given time, but when they were called, the doctors came there and PCR was done on the passenger. But she still passed on.
“This could have just happened anywhere but when it happens at the airport it goes viral as if the management does not care, but that’s not true, we care for our passengers.”
Voke commiserated with the family of the deceased, stating that the passenger was moved to the Nigerian Air Force medical facility at the airport.
She said: “We are not happy about this and our hearts go out to the family of the diseased and we pray that God should grant them the fortitude to bear the loss. The diseased passenger was taken to the NAF base hospital.”
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