A female psychiatric patient at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Enugu, Nzubechi Igwe, has reportedly been raped by a staff member of the hospital.

She was later declared missing while five months pregnant.
The elder brother of the victim, Mr Israel, explained that his younger sister had been experiencing psychiatric symptoms and as a result, her family sought medical attention at the hospital. She was admitted on August 9, 2024.

According to Israel, while his sister was at the hospital, he visited her often and monitored her progress and provided necessary support.

He said, “One night while my sister was within the hospital premises, One Mr. Kazeem a security man at the hospital accosted her, lured her to a corner, threatened violence and had non-consensual sexual intercourse with her.

“At the earliest opportunity, my sister reported the matter to the management of the Neuropsychiatric hospital Enugu for their intervention. But despite the said complaint laid by my sister, there was a brazen apathy to investigate the incident case of rape, culminating in pregnancy.

“I was not in any way informed and did not know about the ugly incident up until the second trimester of the pregnancy when I was advised by staff at the hospital to conduct a pregnancy test on my sister.

“The pregnancy test was thereafter conducted and the result came out positive. At the moment, my sister is about five (5) months pregnant. The pregnancy test result is intact and can be made available if the need be.”

Igwe stated that on January 15, 2025, he received a call from the hospital informing him that his sister was missing and that his presence was urgently needed at the hospital.

“When I got to the hospital, they gave me the hospital bill and informed me that they do not know my sister’s whereabouts. We have searched every nook and cranny of both my home State (Abia) and Enugu State but she is nowhere to be found.
“All the entreaties made to the hospital Management to give any reasonable account as to my sister’s whereabouts proved futile. It is discernable from the background that the life of my sister is in imminent danger.

“We sincerely believe as a family that the hospital has a duty of care in the circumstances and under no guise should they pass the buck to anyone else. It is indeed a helpless situation and I am calling on all the relevant Departments and Agencies, security agents, the press and well-meaning Nigerians to kindly rise to this occasion and save my poor sister from being lynched untimely.

“We therefore humbly urge that you explore all the options within the ambit of the law to give this matter the necessary visibility for justice to be done,” Igwe pleaded.

Meanwhile, efforts to contact the medical director of the hospital, Dr Ngozi Unogu to speak on the matter have proved futile as she has refused to comment on the scandal.