Opinion
Hospital Detention As Violation
Reports from World Health Organisation (WHO) indicate that hospital detention is both a human right violation and inconsistent with efforts towards universal health coverage.
For the fact that it is a human right violation, it means that, for decades, hospitals have been violating the rights of patients who might not be able to pay their bills. This may not be in Nigeria alone; it could have been happening in other countries of the world.
It should not come to us as a surprise as sometimes the hospitals in question may not have a choice to detain their patients after rendering healthcare services.
Reports have it that often times, hospital workers volunteer to pay some patients medical bills just to save a life. That was a case where the parents of a child could not cope, but the workers put resources together and purchased drugs to take care of the patient.
I have also seen a situation where a woman spent about a week in a public hospital. The husband was expected to get some money for continuation of treatment. When money was not forthcoming, she was taken care of and even discharged without paying any more charges.
I think that decision was taken by the management of that hospital. The gesture is worthy of emulation and should be commended by all. The medical workers try their best but need money to get hospital consumables.
Another case in point was about a woman who, after delivery of a baby, had difficulty with her placenta. She spent about six months in a public hospital till she was okay. In fact, when she was finally discharged, her family could not pay part of the expenses.
The hospitals need money to render services. Management needs funds to run the hospital like any other institution. Sometimes, accumulated medical expenses become difficult for patients and families to offset, especially in life threatening ailments where hospital bills can run into thousands of naira.
Some persons have experienced that. A situation where a family was unaware of paying extra charges aside an initial deposit made in the hospital after spending extra days, they were mandated to settle the extra bills before they were allowed to leave.
The issue of how management of hospitals should handle cases like these calls for concern.
According to WHO, it is an infringement of patients’ human rights to withhold them from going to their destination after receiving medical treatment. The healthcare workers need to be paid, especially if it has to do with the private sector. Facilities and equipment need to be purchased and maintained for effective running of the hospitals.
There were times in the past when some persons ran away from the hospital when their wives had delivery of new borns for lack of funds to offset delivery fees.
In the public sector, I think consultancy is free and it is just for persons to purchase their drugs. In the kind of society we find ourselves, if medical services are available or some persons allowed to have their way, even those who are buoyant will pretend and refuse to pay their medical bills.
If you give such opportunity to every Nigerian, some will abuse it. They will expect government to do that. People should be able to pay their medical bills. Payment of medical bills in hospitals is very important because they must work.
Stakeholders in medicare should create a system that will ensure that the two sides of the matter are balanced. Government is not to blame but it can assist. The issue about hospital detention is not just making rules but it should be to create a balance.
Rightly, anybody that receives or accepts a service from another is expected to pay for such service rendered. It is not easy to run a hospital. The health workers need to be paid. If hospitals offer free services, let’s say private, they may not have funds to operate.
WHO should set up certain policies on ground, something in form of grant, free medicare, National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, so that it is said that detaining patients who could not afford their health bills should be set free, then such health policy will cover the bills.
Really, some health workers in public hospitals are so kind that they cater for a number of patients who have become old in the hospitals as well as the elderly. I think that at a public hospital level, there should be a declaration of free medical service. Otherwise patients should be made to pay.
In Nigeria, such rule may not be applicable considering a lot of factors. WHO should enact such rule. Some countries have health insurance for their citizens. In other countries according to reports, where there is free medicare, that it is not totally free.
While the patients need to live, hospital workers generally need to be taken care of, resources are needed to run and manage the health institutions, be it private or public. Even in the United Kingdom, where they operate NHIS, it is only to a certain amount and level.
Then if patients are detained, how do they look for the money. If there are really those who treat patients free, then they should be commended.
If you talk about the herbal traditional healers, he or she needs to go to the bushes to get some herbs for curative measures. This definitely costs time and money. If they render free care, their sustainability will be in doubt.
The truth is that there are persons in some health facilities who have run out of funds. They have probably done all they can to let their persons survive.
Emphasis should be on health insurance so that more people can have access to healthcare. If they cannot pay after hospitals have rendered services, the insurance can cover the bills.
Quite some time now, the issue of people registering in HMO has been going on, both for organisations and individuals. But I can’t tell how willing people have been about it. This is supposed to be for families as any member of the family enrolls the other for healthcare coverage.
It is high time families registered their households in health insurance scheme. This will go a long way in alleviating problems associated with detention and inability to offset health care bills.
Well-meaning citizens have been clamouring for good health care system in Nigeria. I think if it is available, they will surely pay.
By: Eunice Choko-Kayode
The political atmosphere in Rivers State has been anything but calm in 2025. Yet, a rare moment of unity was witnessed on Saturday, June 28, when Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, appeared side by side at the funeral of Elder Temple Omezurike Onuoha, Wike’s late uncle. What could have passed for a routine condolence visit evolved into a significant political statement—a symbolic show of reconciliation in a state bruised by deep political strife.
The funeral, attended by dignitaries from across the nation, was more than a moment of shared grief. It became the public reflection of a private peace accord reached earlier at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. There, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu brought together Governor Fubara, Minister Wike, the suspended Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and other lawmakers to chart a new path forward.
For Rivers people, that truce is a beacon of hope. But they are not content with photo opportunities and promises. What they demand now is the immediate lifting of the state of emergency declared in March 2025, and the unconditional reinstatement of Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Dr. Ngozi Odu, and all suspended lawmakers. They insist on the restoration of their democratic mandate.
President Tinubu’s decision to suspend the entire structure of Rivers State’s elected leadership and appoint a sole administrator was a drastic response to a deepening political crisis. While it may have prevented a complete breakdown in governance, it also robbed the people of their voice. That silence must now end.
The administrator, retired naval chief Ibok-Ette Ibas, has managed a caretaker role. But Rivers State cannot thrive under unelected stewardship. Democracy must return—not partially, not symbolically, but fully. President Tinubu has to ensure that the people’s will, expressed through the ballot, is restored in word and deed.
Governor Fubara, who will complete his six-month suspension by September, was elected to serve the people of Rivers, not to be sidelined by political intrigues. His return should not be ceremonial. It should come with the full powers and authority vested in him by the constitution and the mandate of Rivers citizens.
The people’s frustration is understandable. At the heart of the political crisis was a power tussle between loyalists of Fubara and those of Wike. Institutions, particularly the State House of Assembly, became battlegrounds. Attempts were made to impeach Fubara. The situation deteriorated into a full-blown crisis, and governance was nearly brought to its knees.
But the tide must now turn. With the Senate’s approval of a record ?1.485 trillion budget for Rivers State for 2025, a new opportunity has emerged. This budget is not just a fiscal document—it is a blueprint for transformation, allocating ?1.077 trillion for capital projects alone. Yet, without the governor’s reinstatement, its execution remains in doubt.
It is Governor Fubara, and only him, who possesses the people’s mandate to execute this ambitious budget. It is time for him to return to duty with vigor, responsibility, and a renewed sense of urgency. The people expect delivery—on roads, hospitals, schools, and job creation.
Rivers civil servants, recovering from neglect and under appreciation, should also continue to be a top priority. Fubara should continue to ensure timely payment of salaries, address pension issues, and create a more effective, motivated public workforce. This is how governance becomes real in people’s lives.
The “Rivers First” mantra with which Fubara campaigned is now being tested. That slogan should become policy. It must inform every appointment, every contract, every budget decision, and every reform. It must reflect the needs and aspirations of the ordinary Rivers person—not political patrons or vested interests.
Beyond infrastructure and administration, political healing is essential. Governor Fubara and Minister Wike must go beyond temporary peace. They should actively unite their camps and followers to form one strong political family. The future of Rivers cannot be built on division.
Political appointments, both at the Federal and State levels, must reflect a spirit of fairness, tolerance, and inclusivity. The days of political vendettas and exclusive lists must end. Every ethnic group, every gender, and every generation must feel included in the new Rivers project.
Rivers is too diverse to be governed by one faction. Lasting peace can only be built on concessions, maturity, and equity. The people are watching to see if the peace deal will lead to deeper understanding or simply paper over cracks in an already fragile political arrangement.
Wike, now a national figure as Minister of the FCT, has a responsibility to rise above the local fray and support the development of Rivers State. His influence should bring federal attention and investment to the state, not political interference or division.
Likewise, Fubara should lead with restraint, humility, and a focus on service delivery. His return should not be marked by revenge or political purges but by inclusive leadership that welcomes even former adversaries into the process of rebuilding the state.
“The people are no longer interested in power struggles. They want light in their streets, drugs in their hospitals, teachers in their classrooms, and jobs for their children. The politics of ego and entitlement have to give way to governance with purpose.
The appearance of both leaders at the funeral was a glimpse of what unity could look like. That moment should now evolve into a movement-one that prioritizes Rivers State over every personal ambition. Let it be the beginning of true reconciliation and progress.
As September draws near, the Federal government should act decisively to end the state of emergency and reinstate all suspended officials. Rivers State must return to constitutional order and normal democratic processes. This is the minimum requirement of good governance.
The crisis in Rivers has dragged on for too long. The truce is a step forward, but much more is needed. Reinstating Governor Fubara, implementing the ?1.485 trillion budget, and uniting political factions are now the urgent tasks ahead. Rivers people have suffered enough. It is time to restore leadership, rebuild trust, and finally put Rivers first.
By: Amieyeofori Ibim
Amieyeofori Ibim is former Editor of The Tide Newspapers, political analyst and public affairs commentator
Do the Fulani herdsmen have an expansionists agenda, like their progenitor, Uthman Dan Fodio? Why are they everywhere even the remotest part of other areas in Nigeria harassing, maiming, raping and killing the owners of the land?”
In a swift reaction, The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) decried and strongly condemned the invasion by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
In his denunciation, MOSOP President Fegalo Nsuke described the incident as very unfortunate and deeply troubling, warning against a recurrence of the violence experienced in Benue State. “The killing of yesterday is bad and very unfortunate. We are getting preliminary information about how the herders gained access to the farmland, and it appears some hoodlums may be collecting money and granting access illegally.”
He called on the Hausa community in Rivers State to intervene swiftly to prevent further attacks.
“We want the Hausa community in Rivers State to take urgent action to ensure these issues are resolved”.
But will such appeal and requests end the violent disposition of the Fulani herdsmen? It is not saying something new that the escalating threat and breach of peace across the country by the Fulani herdsmen or those suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, leaves much to be desired in a country that is bedevilled by multi-dimensional challenges and hydra-headed problems.
Some upland Local Government Areas of Rivers State, such as Etche, Omuma, Emohua, Ikwerre, Oyigbo, Abua, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, have severally recounted their ordeals, as herdsmen invaded farmlands, destroyed crops, raped female farmers and killed protestant residents.
Again the wanton destruction of lives and properties which no doubt has overwhelmed the Nigerian Police, makes the clamour for State Police, indispensable. The National Assembly should consider the amendment of the Constitution to allow States to have their Statutory policing agencies.
As insurgency has risen to an all time high in the country were killings has now grown to be a normal daily activity in some part of the nation it may not be safe to say that Nigeria still practices democracy.
Several massacres coming from the Boko Haram and the herdsmen amongst all other insurgencies which have led to the destruction of homes and killing, burning of communities especially in the northern part of the country. All these put together are result of the ethnic battles that are fought between the tribes of Nigeria and this can be witnessed in Benue State where herders and farmers have been in constant clashes for ages. They have experienced nothing but casualties and unrest.
In the month of June 13-14, the Yelwata attack at the Guma Local Government Area by suspected gunmen or herdsmen who stormed the houses of innocent IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) claiming the lives of families, both adults and children estimated to be 200 victims. They were all burnt alive by these unknown gunmen.
This has been recorded as one of the deadliest insurgencies that had happened in recent years. Some security personnel that were trying to fight the unknown gunmen also lost their lives.
Prior to the Yelewata attack, two days before the happening, similar conflict took place in Makurdi on June 11, 2025. 25 people were killed in the State. Even in Plateau State and the Southern Kaduna an attack also took place in the month of June.
All other states that make up the Middle Belt have been experiencing the farmers/herders clash for years now and it has persisted up till recent times, claiming lives of families and children, homes and lands, escalating in 2025 with coordinated assaults.
Various authorities and other villagers who fled for safety also blamed the herdsmen in the State for the attack that happened in Yelwata community.
Ehebha God’stime is an Intern with The Tide.