The death of his newborn twins barely a day after receiving routine immunisation has sparked grief, outrage, and serious questions about patient safety at public health facilities in Lagos State.
Promise Samuel Alozie, a distraught father, is demanding answers after his nine-month-old twins died on Christmas Day, less than 24 hours after they were immunised at a primary health centre near their home. According to him, the babies developed unusual symptoms shortly after the injections and deteriorated rapidly before passing away on December 25.
In this emotional interview with Naijaonpoint Editor, Ogbolu George Oshogwe, Alozie recounts the events leading up to the tragedy, raises concerns over the conduct of the nurse who administered the injections, and voices fears that the ongoing police investigation and autopsy could be manipulated. He insists that he is not seeking compensation but the truth about what killed his children.
So, please, can you introduce yourself to me one second, sir?
“Okay. My name is Promise Samuel Alozie. I’m the father of the twins who died on the 25th of December. They died on the 25th of December, and they were born on the 24th. They took the immunisation on the 24th, and they died on the 25th.”
Please, can you give us a brief rundown of what really happened that day?
“On the 24th of December, I took them (the twins), including my wife, and we went for immunisation around 8:30 an – 9 am. They were already there. Then, firstly, we scaled them to know their weight, to know which one is bigger than the other. Then, we see that the junior one has more weight than the senior one.
“We took it as funny stuff. My wife and I were having a quiz with people saying that this one is sucking breast. This one has more weight than this one.
“Then, after that, the nurse who was on duty gave them injections. One in the left arm, one in the right arm, one in the left leg. There were three injections. After that, after giving the first child the injection, which is my first son, which is the senior one, he started running temperature. Then, after giving the second one the injection, he started running temperature at the same time. Then, I had to complain to my wife.”
“I told my wife that their temperature is not as usual because I always followed them from day one of the immunisation till now. So, they have not gotten this kind of temperature before for the first time. So, I was very surprised.
I said, okay, if the nurse can give us an alternative, what can we do? Maybe we should get home to reduce the temperature. Let her tell us what to do. So, the nurse told us that if we get home, we should apply paracetamol and warm water.
So, that day, my wife wanted to go to her shop. I escorted her to her shop. As we were getting to her shop, we were really stressed out for the day.
I told her, I am stress, I want to sleep at your shop. When I lay down with her, after some minutes, she woke me up and said, ‘Baby, come and go home. Go and sleep at home.’
At that point, I left and went home. After some hours of resting at home, I called her and said, “Baby, it’s getting late already. I thought you said you wanted to go to your mom’s place to do your Christmas.” I told her, I don’t like people going in the night hours.
So, she said, okay, they will be back soon. In less than an hour, she came back. We were talking, she told me that the children are screaming, they are vomiting.
I said, okay, if they are vomiting, maybe we have to apply paracetamol. The nurse had told us to apply paracetamol. So, we took the paracetamol and gave them.
So, my wife bath two of them. One with warm water, the other one with warm water. She told me because I was inside the room when she was bathing them.
So, after that, I helped them with gathering their things that they were going to take to their grandmother’s place, which is at Ajegunle. So, after that, they left. I was alone all through the day.
So, on the morning of the 25th of December, around 6.30 or 7, I had a call. The call was the first call I had. They called me and said, my wife told me that they were in the hospital, that my child is not breathing.
That my child is not breathing, like he’s not breathing, he’s not shaking, that my child is lifeless. So, I asked him what happened. He said that all through the 24th night, they were stooling.
They stooled plenty of times to the extent that it was not controllable. She managed to apply paracetamol. She was giving them paracetamol.
So, in the morning time, they have to sleep. They just died like that. So, she took them to a hospital that is close to their house, to their mother’s house.
There, she called me. I said, look, I’m coming. I left their house immediately because even as I’m talking to you, I didn’t bath that day. I have to go without bathing, so I can know what is going on.
When I got there, I saw my children lifeless. Like, I saw them lifeless. I asked the doctor.
The doctor said they have gone already. I said, no, they cannot die like that. This is the children I played with on 24th November in the morning.
I played with them. I personally fed them. I was the person that fed them pap. I was the person that fed them pap. I put on their Pampers.
So, they can’t just tell me that story. The story is not good for me to hear. So, I have to go to another hospital to confirm. The same thing they told me. The hospital didn’t even give us more attention. The doctor just came, checked their heart and said they have gone. I went to another hospital. They checked their heart. They said they have gone. So, this is how my tragedy, my trauma started. So, now I’m talking to myself.
Even as I’m talking to you, I’m crying about my children.
These babies were in perfect health before you went to the health centre?
They were strong. They were very strong. I took them to a primary health centre close to my house.
There was a report where you said you believe that the nurse may have given them an overdose or a fake vaccine.
The nurse even gave us worn medicine. She didn’t even tell me that it was part of the immunisation.
She said she wanted to help me to deworm them.
Usually, kids are dewormed from 12 months?
Did I ask her to deworm my children? I don’t know anything about it. I am not a medical doctor. She said it at the state’s CID that she wanted to help me to deworm them because I was saying that one has more weight than the other one. She thought that they were not eating, but she wanted to deworm them. She didn’t even tell me. I was not informed.
Can you recall the nurse’s name now?
Her name is Abimbola. I have her picture and will send it to you.
You mentioned that this matter has been referred to the state’s CID.
It has gone to the police. They have done an autopsy. I’m pushing this case now because I want the autopsy to be truthful. I don’t want them manipulating the results, because I know the government very well. There is nothing that is hard for them to do.
They can change the results.
When was this autopsy carried out?
They did this autopsy on Monday (last week). The results are not out yet. They have not called me.
This autopsy was monitored by the police, right?
Yes, the police and the IPO that followed me was there. I reported first at the Festac police station. They transferred me to the Okokomaiko police station. Then the DPO in Okokomaiko took up the case and then transferred me to the state’s CID, Panti, Yaba.
The reason why I’m pushing this case is because I know what they can do. I don’t have money. I don’t have anybody, they will manipulate the results. I just want the results to come out so clearly. To know what killed them. They are my life.
Did you know anyone else who the child got immunised with that same day as you? Have you reached out? Have the police reached out to anybody?
My child is just 9 months. I don’t know whether all the other children that came there if they are 9 months. I don’t know. What they gave to my child is what triggered the weakness of my children and the illness of my children till the day they died.
Okay. Have you heard anything from the health centre?
The woman who injected my child said it is a food-borne bacteria that killed my child. She said it.
How did she come to that conclusion if she had not seen the autopsy results?
I don’t know. Maybe she is a scientist. I don’t know. She just said it at the station.
If I call her today, I will still bring up the talk because she said it with all her boldness that it is food bacteria.
Now that the Lagos state government has ordered an investigation into the whole issue, how confident are you that you will get justice?
That is what I am saying. I don’t want them to manipulate it. That is why I want the whole world to hear this. I know what the government can do. They can manipulate it to their own favour. In the case of the fake vaccine or what is it called? Using expired drugs, they will not want that kind of shame on their health facilities. I want the whole world to know.
If they bring fake results, I will still speak up. They will not give me fake results on this. The only choice they have now is to tell me the truth of what happened.
If it is fake drugs, or maybe they didn’t store the vaccine well, or maybe it is the deworm medicine that the nurse applied, Or her own willingness. This is what I want. If they don’t tell me this, I will still go on and speak up.
I will continue to tell the world that they have killed my two children, my twins. Not even one, but two of them. They died the same day, the same hour.
Did the police give you a timeframe to provide you with an update on investigation and the autopsy?
The police have not talked to me. The State CID have not called me for anything. The only thing I have to ask one of the doctors in the autopsy centre. I asked him, sir, please, when will the autopsy be ready? When do you feel the autopsy can be ready? He said, maybe this week that we are into now. I said, okay. That is why I am saying maybe this week. But the police have not called me. I know the police. I know their lies.
Even though I have not had this kind of case or I have not been in police before, but I have heard it. I know that justice does not come from police. I have heard it so much.
All through when I was small, till now I have grown up. I have heard that justice does not come from the police. The police do not give justice.
Instead, they will manipulate the results to their own, to collect bribes. I am not scared. The only thing I want them to say is, if not, I will continue to speak up.
I have the platform now to speak up. I will speak up till the truth comes out. If they do not want, I will make sure that I will tarnish their image.
Because they can’t kill my two children and go scot-free.
Was it the nurse that said your children died from food infection also the same person that dewormed the kids?
Yes, she said it is food bacteria. And she was also the one who administered deworm to them. Without my consent. Without me knowing that it is a worm medicine. She did not even tell me. I thought it was among the immunisation drugs. I am not into the line of medicine.
And she made it clear in her statement at the police station. She wrote that in her statement. She made it.
When Naijaonpoint contacted the nurse to respond to allegations made against her, she immediately ended the call after this reporter identified himself. Subsequent calls to her number failed to connect. Also the Lagos State Police Command Spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi did not respond to calls or messages sent to her WhatsApp as at the time of this report.