The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives [/b](NANNM), Lagos State chapter, has issued a statement revealing that the individual reportedly arrested for injecting the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, is not a registered nurse. This information was conveyed through a press statement signed by Toba Odumosu, the state secretary of the association.
In addition to this revelation, the NANNM advised the media to exercise caution in verifying individuals' qualifications and professional status before categorizing them as healthcare practitioners.
To provide context, Mohbad tragically passed away on September 12, 2023. His father, Joseph Aloba, [/b]attributed his son's demise to an injection administered by an auxiliary nurse on September 14. Joseph Aloba expressed disbelief in the circumstances, highlighting concerns about the nurse's qualifications and the injection's potential adverse effects.
While expressing condolences to Mohbad's grieving family, the Lagos State Council of NANNM underscored the importance of professionalism in reporting and conducting the ongoing investigation into Mohbad's death. The association is closely monitoring the situation, and preliminary investigations suggest that the individual in police custody for providing care to Mohbad lacks the credentials of a registered nurse.
The NANNM statement emphasized that in Nigeria, to be recognized as a nurse, individuals must complete a rigorous five-year Bachelor of Nursing Science program at a university, followed by an additional year of internship or undergo training at an accredited school or college of nursing, becoming registered and licensed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.
Furthermore, the NANNM clarified that the term "Auxiliary Nurse" has no place within Nigeria's healthcare system or its laws. An individual is either a qualified nurse or an unqualified person performing tasks beyond their competence. The association urged both investigative authorities and the media to exercise caution and accuracy in their reporting during this investigation and demanded that any media outlets that inaccurately reported the arrest of a nurse take immediate corrective action to rectify their stories.
