By Chinelo Obogo
Management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Osun State, has said the family of late Senator Isiaka Adeleke are not entitled to his autopsy report because the law does not permit it.
A statement, signed on behalf of the management of LAUTECH by Mr. Ayodele Adeyemo, said contrary to the deceased’s family’s insistence that they deserve the right to be given the autopsy report by the pathologist, the law treats all the deceased’s family members as potential suspects, hence it was illegal for any member to have access to the late senator’s autopsy reports.
The deceased’s younger brother, Dr. Deji Adeleke, had berated the chief pathologist, who carried out the autopsy on the deceased for saying he would only release the report to LAUTECH Chief Medical Director, Prof. Akeem Lasisi.
He condemned refusal of the pathologist to release the remaining sample tissues removed from the body of the deceased for the conduct of the autopsy that would have helped the family seek the conduct of a second autopsy from a medical facility outside the state.
Senator Adeleke was reported to have died from complications which arose after he was given an overdose of pain killers.
In its official reaction to allegations from the Adeleke family, LAUTECH said: “On Sunday, April 23, 2017, the fateful day when the corpse of senator Adeleke was brought to the hospital for autopsy, all necessary facilities, both materials and human were promptly mobilised to carry out a thorough and professional job.
“The police homicide detectives handed the relevant coroner papers (forms B and C) to the hospital’s pathologist, the only authorised professional in charge of autopsy in the presence of the family members.
“It is very important to state categorically that with the completion of forms B and C of the police ab initio, it is clear that the issue of autopsy is beyond a family wanting to know the cause of death.
“The import is that the autopsy has become a full criminal investigation into the death of the deceased.
“It needs to be stressed that the sudden death of any person at home is a coroner case that must be investigated by the police.
“In a situation like that, the family no longer has a say in the matter.
“In line with global practices and in a case like the above, such reports are not given to the family because they could be regarded as potential suspects that should not be allowed to have advance knowledge of findings of the investigations.
“The full autopsy report was not even made available to the management of the hospital because the law does not permit the pathologist to do so.
“On the allegation of refusal to give tissue (sample) by the hospital, suffice to say that if the family of the deceased are keenly interested in obtaining the samples for autopsy by other agencies/ hospitals, it behoves on them to apply to the coroner for that.
“The hospital challenges the family to provide a previous letter of application for tissues which was reportedly rejected by the hospital.”