Fresh insights have emerged amid the controversy surrounding the death of Miss Keren Akpagher, a student at Premiere Academy, Lugbe, Abuja who died recently in now controversial circumstances.
Reports Monday evening said an interim autopsy report has been released by the Nigeria Police Force, which allegedly confirmed that Keren died of complications related to high blood sugar. But the victims family insists she died of rape.
It was reported that the Federal Capital Territory Police Command had on Wednesday, September 8, invited Keren’s family, officials of Premiere Academy and medical team of the Queens Hospital, Wuse, Abuja where she was admitted before her death, to read the report of the autopsy to them.
According to sources privy to the meeting, the autopsy report contradicted the claim that she died of sepsis, as a result of “ decayed condom” found in her, which had raised concerns that she might have been a victim of sexual assault.
A medical report from Queens Hospital, Wuse, Abuja, where Keren died, had claimed that there was “copious thick milky discharge and expression of rubbery material (condom) from the vagina when (the doctor) attempted to pass a urethral catheter.”
However, leaked the autopsy report, as allegedly released by the police, found that the deceased’s vagina “was empty and contained no pus or any foreign material.”
According to autopsy, the “Urogenital system, comprising of the vulva, associated internal organs such as the vagina, uterine cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes together the right and left ovaries as well as the right and left kidneys together with their respective adrenal glands and the left and right ureters, were dissected out together and examined….”
The report went on to add that “the mucosal lining displayed the normal and usual transverse ridges and the lining was smooth and clean. It displayed no lacerations or excoriations of any sort.”
The post-mortem also examined the uterine cervix and found that “it was conical and closed. Its external opening (external os) was tightly closed and round. The covering is clean, displaying no lacerations or excoriations. The canal of the cervix (endocervical canal) is empty and contained no foreign body material. The internal opening (internal os) was unremarkable.”
The summary of autopsy fingered severe high blood sugar of 435.6 mg/dl, triggering acute cerebral oedema, acute pulmonary oedema, and acute liver congestion as cause of death, and not sepsis, as claimed by Queens Hospital.
Authorities of Premiere Academy had said that Keren’s blood sugar was effectively managed while she was in school. The Matron of the school clinic, Grace Salami, disclosed that the deceased’s blood sugar level was 114 mg/dl and normal on the day she exited the school, leading to concerns that she didn’t take her daily insulin shots when went home two days before her hospitalization and eventual death.
In a statement released Monday, Premiere Academy stated that the result of the autopsy are consistent with the position of the school that late Keren died from the mismanagement of her diabetic condition while at home.
“Once again, our hearts go out to the family, friends and well wishers of our dear late student, Miss Keren Akpagher… we pray that God comforts us all “, the statement added.
Newsdiaryonline however, could not independently confirm the contents of the leaked interim autopsy report.
Earlier in the day, the CSO coalition led by Lemmy Ughegbe and the mother of the victim accused the FCT Police of making autopsy report available to the school while the family was left in the dark.
At a press conference in Abuja, the coalition and Keren’s family called on IGP to intervene and move the alleged rape case file to the Force Gender Office.
FCT Police spokesman,ASP Daniel Ndirpaya, told Newsdiaryonline Reporter by sms, Monday night that the entire case was still under investigation.
