Mustang’s story has sparked plenty of reactions, recriminations, and discourse online since he first shared David’s relatable misfortune on the night of Sunday, January 17, 2021
“David got shot around 8pm. The police were called, David hadn’t died yet. The Nigerian police stood and watched as he gasped for air. They took pictures instead and were more concerned with why he – a tech guy- was carrying a laptop. Nigeria failed you, David,” began Mustang.
Mustang said David was his aunt’s son and that he was a young man with plenty of promise. He adds that David was robbed and shot around Jibowu in mainland Lagos
“My ‘auntie’ has three sons. She’s always crazy about them. The middle child, David, is the most promising. He’s a tech guy; very young, very brilliant. David was on his way home on Friday night when he was robbed, shot, and killed around Jibowu. Please say a prayer for my aunt.
“David was taken to the military hospital around the area, the nurses ignored him. The doctor came around and kept asking who they all were. It took a senior nurse to come out and start checking for a pulse. He had lost a lot of blood at this point.
“The police then took David and his family to Sabo, where they looked for the laptop that he had on him instead of giving them a police report. The police officers were drunk and kept being unreasonable. He was finally released to his family, and they got to LUTH (Lagos University Teaching Hospital) around 12:30am
“David wasn’t attended to by the doctors at LUTH. He was there till the family was convinced he couldn’t be alive because he had no pulse. The doctors refused to administer any test to see if he was alive.
“The country failed David. The doctors failed David. The police failed David. The system failed David. Rest in peace David Ntekim-Rex,” he added.
Lagos police spokesperson, Adejobi Olumuyiwa, was not immediately available for a response to this story
A doctor at LUTH refused to go on the record when Pulse called, stating that he hasn’t been granted permission by his superiors to comment on the story.
The Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshots Act which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017, states that a police report is not required before any medical facility attends to any victim of gunshot wounds.
The law means it is an offence for hospitals to deny gunshot victims emergency treatment and care in the country before a police clearance arrives– a practice that has been prevalent for many years.
After the bill was signed, presidential aide, Ita Enang, had said: “Further, a person with gunshot wound shall not be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment or torture by any person or authority, including the police and other security agencies.
*This is a developing story which we will update in subsequent news posts…
