- As family and Permanent Secretary bicker
The Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory Police Command, Haruna Garba, has ordered the State Criminal Investigation Department to immediately take over from the Mabushi Police Division, an ongoing investigation into the alleged poisoning of the Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John, who has been hospitalised at the Federal Medical Centre.
The FCT Police Command Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, revealed the development on Saturday in an exclusive telephone interview with our correspondent.
“The CP has ordered the Mabushi Police Division that was investigating the matter to immediately transfer it to the SCID,” SP Adeh revealed.
The PUNCH reports that Ade-John, 60, who was appointed as a minister by President Bola Tinubu in August, has been hospitalised in Abuja after being said to have suffered acute poisoning from an unknown origin, as her family members fear that time was running against their efforts to save her life.
It was learnt that the minister was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, shortly after she started manifesting symptoms of illness, according to family sources familiar with her ordeal. She had spent five days at the facility as of Saturday morning, our correspondent gathered.
Officials at the FMC could not be reached as they did not respond to phone calls and text messages from our correspondent.
Ms Ade-John, a career banker and tech investor, has been on a machine to aid her breathing, our sources said. The specifics as to what substance she ingested and how could not be immediately established.
Her worsening situation has further set the family against the government, with the permanent secretary of her ministry said to be in disagreement as to whether she should continue receiving treatment at a public hospital or be moved to a better-equipped private facility downtown.
The permanent secretary, Ngozi Onwudike, was said to have insisted that the minister should not be transferred because the FMC is a public hospital and its services wouldn’t attract substantial charges to the government, a position her family rebuffed. But they remained with her as they could not raise funds to move her to a private hospital, our sources said. A phone number for the permanent secretary did not connect on Friday morning.
Ms Ade-John was appointed as a minister by President Bola Tinubu in August. She was immediately touted as one of the few cabinet members appointed from outside the political beltway. She was based in London for years before she was asked to return to the country to serve by the president.
