The family of 42-year-old Kehinde Albert has appealed to the public for help in finding him after he reportedly went missing from the General Hospital in Gbagada, Lagos.
Kehinde was last seen on February 27 at the hospital where he had gone for medical examinations ahead of enrolling in a rehabilitation programme for alcoholism.
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday, his elder brother, Olatunde Albert, said Kehinde had struggled with alcohol addiction for several years and was taken to the hospital on February 26 alongside his twin brother for preliminary medical tests.
According to him, Kehinde suddenly developed seizures and convulsions while at the hospital and was immediately admitted for treatment. He later stabilised after receiving medical attention.
Olatunde explained that he left the hospital the following day to buy prescribed medication, leaving Kehinde in the care of his twin brother. However, he later became worried after seeing the twin brother outside the hospital that night.
“When I asked why he left Kehinde at the hospital, he told me the hospital staff chased them away,” he said.
However, hospital officials reportedly gave a different account, stating that Kehinde and his twin brother had attempted to leave the facility several times.
According to the hospital, Kehinde later slipped out of the premises while staff were reviewing their documents.
Since then, the family says they have been searching for him without success.
“We have been looking for him everywhere since that day. We have already lost our mother, and we are pleading with the public to help us find him,” Olatunde said.
When contacted, the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Olusegun Babafemi, said Kehinde had initially visited the facility for tests but nearly collapsed at the laboratory and was rushed to the emergency unit where he was stabilised.
Babafemi said the patient’s twin brother later insisted they wanted to leave the hospital despite advice from medical staff that further examinations, including assessments by a cardiologist and a psychiatrist, were required.
According to him, the hospital informed them that they could leave if they completed a discharge process, which they eventually did.
“Once a patient is discharged, the hospital is no longer responsible for the individual unless the person is admitted to the ward,” Babafemi explained.
He added that the hospital had circulated Kehinde’s photograph internally and advised the family to search places he was known to frequent, noting that he might have gone somewhere familiar.
