By Israel Bulus, Kaduna
Agonised residents of Angwan Rimi in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State have sent an SOS to Governor Uba Sani after the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital allegedly stopped treating children injured in a recent bandit attack over unpaid medical bills.
In an open letter obtained by our Correspondent on Sunday, community leaders Barnabas Chinge and Comrade Raphael Joshua said the August 24 assault left several children battling life-threatening injuries and dozens of families homeless.
The victims were first stabilised at the Federal Medical Centre, Kafanchan, before being transferred to Barau Dikko on August 27 for advanced care. But treatment reportedly ground to a halt once an initial ₦500,000 deposit from Kauru council chairman Bashir Tanko Dawaki ran out, leaving an outstanding balance of nearly ₦1m.
Hospital management, led by Chief Medical Director Prof. A. Musa Tabari, was said to have written to the council on September 1 requesting further payment but got no response.
“Our children remain in pain and we can no longer afford their treatment,” the letter read. “So far, we have spent over ₦500,000 on drugs and cannot buy more.”
The community thanked Senator Sunday Marshall Katung, House of Representatives member Muktar Zakari Chawai, and state lawmaker Haruna Barnabas Danmaigona for assisting with the burial of seven people killed in the raid.
They urged Governor Sani to immediately offset the hospital bill and order the resumption of treatment for the wounded children.
As of press time, neither the Kaduna State Government nor Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital had responded to the desperate appeal.