The Patriot Institute of Journalism and Arts (PIJA), Lance Magazine is a public-centric independent media organisation dedicated to fighting injustice, fostering social justice and community development through the telling and retelling of the marginalised-oriented stories.
After Ghastly Accident, NYSC, NHIS Dump Insurance Vow to Pay Corps Member 250k Hospital Bills
What meant to save plan to kill. This is a story of deceit, negligence, and lies in life-saving schemes.
The National Youth Service Corps has deviated from their vow with the National Health Insurance Scheme to insure hospital bills of members as Jesuleye Omotoyosi, a former corps member, was left to pay bills after a ghastly motorcycle accident in Wamakko Local Government, Sokoto.
Omotoyosi, with the call-up number NYSC/FPO/2021/114359, disclosed this to our correspondent while narrating her ordeals at 8 Division Army Headquarters in Sokoto State, five months after she passed out.
PIJAlance correspondent learnt that the erstwhile corps member was involved in a terrible bike accident that left her parts affected with her kneecap disjointed leaving a whole part of her half, paralysed. This made her to be sucked out of NHIS’s unresponsive concerns so that the only thing to think of was survival.
Omotoyosi narrated that the accident occurred seven days to her Passion Out Parade day and that made it unforgettable but there was more to it.
In her words, “Thursday, 30th of June, 2022 was my last clearance day as a corps member. I was coming from Wamakko Local Government Secretariat and going to Kalambaina which is where my Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) was located. They are a stone-throw from each other.
“I took a bike from the NYSC Secretariat to Kalambiana (PPA). I was almost there. I was already seeing it afront (sic). It happened at the last roundabout. A commercial motorcycle rider was plying one way. I think he went to drop a passenger at the Secretariat. it is not out of the way to assume that the passenger was one of those who came for their CDS groups; it was a Thursday after all. I think he didn’t want to go down the road before he made the u-turn, that’s (sic) he collided with the commercial bike man that carried me.
“I landed on my left side. Every part that was affected was my left side – my eyes, hand, ear and the most affected was my leg.
“I fainted immediately, and fortunately for me there were corps members among the witnesses of the accident, they attended to me and took me to Trauma Center in Usmanu Danfodiyo Teaching Hospital.”
Jesuleye Omotoyosi who is still currently receiving treatment at a private Hospital in Ibadan said, she was diagnosed with a “kneecap shifted from its position to the side part of” her leg, “leaving the bones on the knee scattered” and based on this three days after, it got swollen and swelled up despite POP on it.
This made the doctor in charge to suggested there is a need for her to do a Magnetic Resonance Imaging test which will cost almost #100,000, as the doctor noted.
Meanwhile, a man who identified himself as the NYSC Head of the clinic in Wamakko Local Government Council had told her to collate all receipts used for payment that NYSC will pay for it, bringing into mind the NHIS insurance vow. But from strict measures to intentional delay, NHIS withheld all benefits from Jesuleye Omotoyosi, until today.
“The third day, a man came and identified himself as NYSC head of the clinic in our local government. He said I should collate all the receipts of my bills before he came and that NYSC will pay for them. He said NYSC will refund me. He added that they will pay for all other treatments, too. He said I should go to the NHIS (National Health Insurance Scheme) department at UDUTH. Those that were with me (Omolola, my boyfriend Adetola Abiodun and Franklin who’s a doctor and UDUTH is his PPA) used to complain that whenever they go to the NHIS department to ask for medication, those people will say they were waiting for verification. They will say they have to see some verification from the NYSC since I belonged to the outgoing batch. They never saw the verification,” Omotoyosi quoted.
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“Frank,” she continued, “had to use his influence to get me some medicine after the NHIS department claimed non-recipient of the verification code once. We gave up on the NHIS after so many attempts and started buying drugs from our own pockets. I have all the receipts.
“After some days in the clinic, the doctor said I have to do Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test. This may cost us almost #100,000. My leg kept swelling even with the POP.
“Frank helped me to pester the man that the MRI test was too expensive for me, that at that juncture I needed the NYSC’s support.
“I called the NYSC official, the one who identified himself as Head of Clinic, he paid half of the price. I was in the machine for two hours.
“They burned the result into a disk and said we should come back for the written results after a week. We took the results to the UDUTH.
“On my POP which was exactly a week after the accident, I was taken to Sokoto stadium to collect the NYSC certificate inside a tricycle. I remember that I was told that if I didn’t go and collect it at that time I might encounter some other unforeseen problems. I was not happy but I thanked God for life.”
The survivor of the ghastly accident noted that she did several tests which all costs were estimated to be more than 250,000; the man from NYSC and the NHIS never talk about it and all attempts to reach them were proven abortive until the time of filing this report as the man, especially decided to not take calls.
Omotoyosi said all of her money which she had saved hopefully to start a business with after NYSC and that of her friends were used to take care of her until this moment and nothing was left.
“Trust me when I say it cost me all my NYSC savings. Every corps member knows how it is to save money in the Scheme, yet I saved. I was thinking that I would use the money to start a business when I was done with the NYSC. We spent more than #250,000 on my leg so I can be able to walk again. There were so many receipts and un-receipts payments.
“I was pained by the NYSC because the Scheme didn’t pay me (sic). They promised that I should compile evidence for the payments and they will refund me but they didn’t. The Head of the Clinic only came to me twice when I was in the hospital, he didn’t repeat the visit. He did not pick up my calls afterwards till I stopped calling.
“Another NYSC source told me, ‘Omotoyosi, you need to thank God for your life and leave these people alone.’ NYSC did not refund me a penny.
“The only payment they made was half payment for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) while NIHS paid half. When they become incommunicado I didn’t write them a letter for a refund.
Furthermore, when contacted, the NYSC Head of the clinic denied that he never take Omotoyosi’s calls adding that he doesn’t know how Omotoyosi will get a refund for her bills.
He even denied that it was out of his knowledge when Omotoyosi left Sokoto.
Omotoyosi is still in the hospital.