During the Peaceful EndSARS Protest, a medic team (i.e., healthcare providers) came together to cater and care for protesters; provide the basic best healthcare available. They mobilized and distributed medical supplies and services while looking out for each other and ensuring every protest location is safe and secured. The turn of events over the space of 2weeks from the inception of the peaceful protest, almost made the efforts and experience of the protest medic team non-existent.
Here are the experiences of some of the medic personnel on the team and their contributions towards the entire struggle for a better Nigeria.
T.B., (Female, Clinical Pharmacologist, Lagos)
I’m a clinical pharmacologist with 7 years of experience, actively participated on the protest medic team, mostly at the Alausa protest ground from 12th till 20th October 2020 between 10 am to 6 pm daily. I was at the Yaba protest ground on the 12th of October with a medical doctor (Dr. Henry). We had very few casualties except a patient who had an asthma attack and forgot his inhaler in his car. We also had cases of minor lacerations. I was at Alausa every other day always-stationed beside an ambulance, until the Lekki massacre. Daily, we saw about 6-7 people with lacerations, however, only about 2 or 3 required suturing. We also saw a patient with hypoglycemia who required emergency fluid therapy. During the course of our activities, we received supplies from Mypharmacy and individuals (some from Funmi oyatogun sent to Alausa through courier service). On two occasions, I received donations twice from EndSarsResponse for the purchase of medical supplies for Badagry, Alagbole, and Alausa protest grounds including deliveries to those locations. Also, I contributed 63,200 NGN of my personal funds.
On the day of the Lekki massacre, immediately the governor declared a curfew, I sent the medical team and the ambulance at Alausa home to comply with the the governor’s order. After which I was followed from the protest ground and arrested by SARS. They accosted me at Alagbole-Ajuwon road and demanded to know who the rest of the team were and where they can find them. They promised to kill me and throw my body in a canal, saying that no one will find me. After about 50mins, they started getting a lot of calls (thanks to a lot of calls and social media noise by the protest medic team) and I was released. Four days after that, my GTB account was frozen on the order of the CBN, and that’s where I have been.
L. G., (Female, Medical Laboratory Scientist, Abuja)
I am a medical lab. scientist, physically active at the Abuja protest ground since the onset. Abuja was a hot zone with different obstacles being posed against protesters. One of the most horrible days was the 19th of October, 2020 – the bloodiest. I was harassed and beaten by ProSARS protesters, 2 of my volunteers’ phones got stolen. Despite all the hindrance, we still stood with the peaceful EndSARS protesters (risking our lives) because we just wanted to live and be safe in our own dear country. Subsequently, we had several people bleeding out from injuries sustained from the protest ground (both violent ProSARS and peaceful EndSARS protesters) who we had to attend to regardless. At some point, I was immensely overwhelmed by the number of causalities we had, with some needing surgeries, so they were transferred to private hospitals. I was sleeping over at the hospital to ensure that the people that survived were taken care of and organized a blood drive that produced up to 20units of blood for the wounded. Funds, medical supplies, and bills were largely sorted by Fem. Co., D. Debo, Dr. Let’s and other donations from individuals.
O. A., (Female, medical doctor, Lagos)
I’m a medical doctor with over 5 years of experience in community medicine. I was at the Airport (MMIA) protest with a Male Nurse, another female medical doctor, and a paramedic manning the ambulance. The protest was peaceful. We attended to mild cases; people who complained of headaches and weakness, got their BP and other vitals checked, and given analgesics for those who needed it. We were at the protest ground between 12pm till 5 pm. Whereas, on our protest medic team group online, we were always strategizing, monitoring and ensuring things were running smoothly at all protest grounds and all protesters were medically covered daily.
However, on the day of the Lekki tollgate Incident when news reached us via our platform (following the curfew announcement) that the shooting had started around past 6 in the evening, we started remobilizing virtually and calling for ambulances back to help the wounded. Seeing people being shot with bullets and bleeding out via live Instagram videos from the venue, some of us started directing on what to do, as they were removing bullets from injured people and another peaceful protester became unconscious right there. We also started mobilizing to take them to the hospital around the island with our medics on the ground ready to receive the wounded. After so many pleas, the first ambulance made it through to the victims at about past 8 PM (this was over 2 hours of shooting at unarmed peaceful protesters), with various threats, and not allowing ambulances through the “military barricade” and “fire burning” from both entries to the tollgate. Concurrently, we started mobilizing for blood units and fluids for resuscitation.
We were also able to keep of casualty influx, that between the time curfew was announced and mid-afternoon of the 20th, we had collectively lost over 5 people (peaceful protesters and thugs across Lagos alone) to the chaos, ranging from machetes cuts to knife stabs and gunshots. As at 10pm, the number of peaceful protesters with gunshot injuries across different hospitals we could account for; were over 11 at Reddington hospital, 2 at Lagoon hospital Ikoyi, over 10 injured, and 1 critical case at GH Lagos with more influx into GH Lagos. Also, at Grandville trauma centre and Paelon Memorial Hospital – gunshot pallets were successfully removed from the neck of the victim, now a survivor. However, in all of these overwhelming and destabilizing event, medics were still up and running; getting ambulances, blood donations, minor and major surgeries sorted out and covering the medical bills of both unarmed peaceful #EndSARS protesters, self or politically-sponsored violent thugs including #ProSARS protesters. In the bid to save lives as the Hippocratic oath teaches, regardless.
As early as possible the following day (which was 21st of October, 2020) we started getting reports of people having their mental health threatened and traumatized from continuously hearing gunshots in their heads and reliving the gory images of all that happened at the Lekki tollgate overnight, hence a number of mental health professionals volunteered to help. Also, we started mobilizing blood donors for the blood bank at LUTH with the collection and distribution of the blood pints by Lifebank delivery guys. Despite the challenges of safety, getting ambulances to a different location for donors, people been restricted from moving and leaving their homes due to fear and the curfew, ambulances been turned back from picking up blood by policemen and delivery men been assaulted (a Lifebank driver was shot at); we got over 50 people from different locations to donate blood and by midday, LUTH blood bank – for the first time in a long time – declared a full bank with about 82 unit of blood donated.
Up until the end of the day, we were still mobilizing ambulances to transport victims to health facilities and save more lives, while we kept arranging for other bed spaces and getting feedbacks on those admitted in other places, as we were still getting cases of gunshot injuries and the demise of some of those patients in different parts of Lagos. Other hospitals with medics that also contributed massively in caring for the wounded #EndSARS victims across Lagos, were National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, Reddington hospital, Admiralty way – Lekki and LASUTH. They recorded an influx of patients that they had to start making an open call for blood donations, blood bags including medical consumables, because they were overwhelmed with victims of gunshot from unarmed #EndSARS Protesters massacred in Lagos.
October 20 was indeed a #BlackTuesday in Nigeria, a day never to be forgotten in history.
C. V., (Male, Medical doctor, GH Lagos)
I am a medical doctor, one of the medical personnel on duty at General Hospital Lagos in the heat of the event at Lekki tollgate from the 20th of October, 2020 till 21st. About 50mins after we got the video alert, we sent an ambulance to the location (Lekki tollgate) and was ready to receive them, but the ambulance came back empty saying the Soldiers stopped them and drove them back threatening with guns. Later, we received some patients and had fatalities. At least, we attended to 30 patients with gunshot injuries and 15 were from the Lekki toll gate. We had like 3 to 4 BIDs (Bought In Dead) and at least 6 deaths as the day went by while I was on duty even if the MD hides the fact and says that there was no fatality, which was wrong. When they died, they were moved to the morgue, some forms were used for them as regards getting information about them and social welfare was to contact the families of those that could be identified. It is worthy to note that the governor of Lagos did not visit the morgue, he just entered the Accident and Emergency area, looked at them (the victims) when they were stable, and took pictures as usual… Below are clips (warning: sensitive images in video, viewers discretion advised) of patients influx into GH, Lagos, and the patient shot on the buttocks died shortly after.
C.M., (Female, Nurse, LUTH Lagos)
I am a nursing staff in LUTH and I was on a 24hours shift at the Accident and Emergency on the 20th of October, 2020. Everything was going well until 2:10 pm when the first set of 10 boys were rushed into the emergency room with gunshot wounds to various parts of their body by the police. It was a bloody and gory sight with a lot of pandemonium. We (the health workers) immediately started the emergency response to resuscitate and stabilize those still alive while we packed the corpse of those that were dead. As time went on, more were rushed in from Mushin and its environs, I lost count. The beds, chairs, and floors were filled with young Nigerians who had been shot by the police while protesting police brutality. As we try to return to our normal activities, stay reminded that lives were lost, families are grieving and the very thing we fought for is still out there.
The influx of patients with bodies ridden with bullets and gunshot injuries, ambulances bringing in BIDs and gunshot patients from the venues, blood bank records from blood drives, medical records, activities of medical staff on duty, bodies in the morgue across various hospitals from October 20th to 21st, 2020 goes to show that a significant shooting and killing event occurred at the Lekki tollgate and across Lagos. This recordable morbidity and mortality especially among the youth – regardless of how the event was portrayed, reported, denied or justified in the public eye – is of (global) public health importance and has a devastating ripple effect on our people, our systems, institutions, and society at large.
Lessons for the healthcare practitioners and system from this great historical event are:
- Nigerians have no knowledge or skills of first aid or resuscitation in cases of causalities. Emergency and First aid education such as BLS, CPR and so on should be engaged for the general public. This could go a long way in helping road traffic accident, fire and other causalities victims.
- The health care system is poorly invested in. This show in the continuous outsources of emergency response, care and medical supplies from individuals and institutions as well. More could be done and achieved, if we (public and private) intentionally work towards a working system.
- Every part of the health care (physiotherapists, nurses, doctors, medical laboratory scientists, pharmacists, pharmacologists, everyone) can all come together to achieve a similar goal without animosity, which is patient-centered care and the general populace well-being.
- The Nigerian Medic, despite hardship and a restricting environment can be dedicated and effective for a just cause while been unnoticed and underappreciated for their sacrifices and hard work to saving lives. Hence, they need to be given more accolades for their efforts.
All of these was evidently demonstrated within the short period of the EndSARS protest.
Editor’s note:
Name initials were used for confidentiality purpose, however exact locations and timing of events were retained. This article was collated via interviews, field participations, private chats and phone conversations with health facilities personnel and the Protest Medic Team over a period of 4 weeks from October 22, 2020. Photo credit – Twitter, Protest Ground (Protest Medic Team – Lagos and Abuja) and Medical Personnel from GH Lagos and LUTH Accident and Emergency.
Discussion2 Comments
Mehn, it’s been a long time. I’m a doctor in a private setting. I did a lot of underground work that period coz I couldn’t be physically present most times.
I remember vividly how hard it was to get ambulances for the injured (and/or dead) people at Lekki toll gate, the doctors at GH Lagos, told me that they heard the LASAMBUS (Lagos state ambulance) people had instructions not to release any ambulance.
The question is why?
Why are citizens, taxpayers being denied basic amenities? Why?
One of the most traumatic experience of my life was the night of 20/10/2020 at General Hospital Lagos Island. I’d never seen so much blood and deaths in one night. So much pain and fear in the atmosphere. Trucks filled with dead and dying people coming in quick succession. Our hearts are still bleeding. It’s one year later Lord. We keep trusting you, praying and putting in the work. Nigeria will arise again. We would live to see a better Nigeria.