A 46-year-old man, Olatunde Joseph Ojelabi, who was driving his family to church, has died days after a road accident, with his family accusing the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital of allegedly delaying his emergency treatment.
Olatunde Joseph Ojelabi was involved in the accident on Sunday, September 6, 2026, while driving along Ijegun Road, Ikotun, Lagos.
According to his brother, Kolawola Ojelabi, the deceased was on his way to church with his family when a commercial tricycle, popularly known as Keke Marwa, allegedly made an abrupt turn while attempting to pick up passengers.
Kolawola said Olatunde swerved to avoid the tricycle but crashed into a stationary vehicle.
The impact was severe, causing the vehicle’s airbags to deploy, while the steering wheel reportedly struck Olatunde’s face, leaving him with serious injuries, particularly on the right side.
He was rushed to a nearby private hospital but was subsequently referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, because of the severity of his injuries.
The family alleged that Olatunde arrived at the hospital’s Medical Emergency Unit before 9am but was left waiting outside because there was reportedly “no bed.”
His brother claimed that the accident victim remained without what the family considered urgent emergency intervention for more than six hours.
The situation, according to him, became critical when Olatunde began convulsing and later suffered cardiac arrest.
It was only after the cardiac arrest that medical personnel reportedly intervened to resuscitate him.
An emergency tracheostomy was subsequently performed after Kolawola gave consent, and Olatunde was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit.
But the family said the ordeal had already taken a heavy toll.
Kolawola alleged that at one point, relatives were asked to buy a plastic bucket, towel and detergent to clean blood from the floor of the emergency unit.
He also expressed shock that he was allegedly asked to go to the ICU himself to determine whether there was an available bed for his critically injured brother.
The family later faced further challenges in the ICU, according to Kolawola, who said they were required to purchase medications running into millions of naira and undergo several investigations.
While acknowledging that some of the tests might have been necessary because Olatunde was unconscious after the accident and cardiac arrest, he complained that the family was not given sufficient explanations about his condition, the medications or the treatment strategy.
Kolawola said he eventually sought the assistance of a senior doctor at LASUTH, who briefed him and Olatunde’s wife on the situation.
The doctor, according to him, described the patient as “still critically ill.”
Olatunde, however, died on September 12, six days after the accident.
His death came just five days after his 46th birthday, which fell on September 7.
The tragedy has left the family questioning whether his condition could have had a different outcome if he had received immediate emergency attention after arriving at LASUTH.
Kolawola said the family was particularly interested in knowing whether Olatunde was promptly assessed and triaged, what emergency protocols were activated and whether any delay in treatment contributed to his deterioration.
He also questioned whether appropriate trauma and neurological assessments were conducted promptly and why the family was allegedly not adequately informed about the patient’s condition and treatment plan.
The grieving brother stressed that his criticism was not borne out of hatred for LASUTH or its personnel, but a demand for accountability over what happened to his brother.
He called on the Lagos State Government, LASUTH management, healthcare regulators and relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding Olatunde’s treatment and determine whether there were any failures in the system.
“If mistakes were made, they must be acknowledged. If procedures were not followed, those responsible must be held accountable. And if the system itself is inadequate, it must be fixed,” he said.
Olatunde’s death has also sparked emotional reactions from people who knew him.
Bayo Olunla Adeoye, a journalist with ThisDay Newspapers, said he knew Olatunde as the administrator of Maplewood Estate, Oko Oba.
Reacting to the Facebook post, Adeoye wrote: “Hmmm! Tunde was the Admin Manager of our estate, Maplewood Estate, Oko Oba. He was a good man. May Almighty God rest his soul.”
Olatunde Joseph Ojelabi was born on September 7, 1980, and died on September 12, 2026, aged 46.
His family is now demanding answers over his treatment at LASUTH and wants authorities to establish exactly what happened between his arrival at the hospital alive and his eventual death six days later.
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