The father of Nathaniel Samuel, the young man who was arrested for allegedly trying to bomb a Living Faith Church in Kaduna, Mr Samuel Ezekiel, has said that his son is mentally ill and was admitted at a Psychiatric hospital in 2012.
He also confirmed that his son is a Christian, and not a Muslim as being speculated on social media.
Daily Trust has not been able to independently verify the father’s claim as authorities at Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, where he was said to have been admitted have refused to confirm or deny the claim.
Our reporter who visited the suspect’s house at Marabar Demishi village located few kilometres from Maraban Rido in Chikun local government area of Kaduna state met his father, Samuel Ezekiel, a Jarawa by tribe from Bauchi state, alongside the Kaduna state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Joseph Hayab.
Mr Ezikiel told Daily Trust that Nathaniel has been a drug addict for years and that the family took him to Psychiatric hospital on December 6, 2012 where he was admitted.
Mr Ezekiel also said he was shocked when he was told that his son carried a bomb into a church because he wondered what would have happened to the lives of people in the church.
“If he was alone, I don’t care but for the lives that are in the church, I begin to wonder. I shed tears,” he told our reporter.
The Medical Director of Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, Professor Abdulkareem Jika Yusuf said the hospital can’t release the medical records of their patients to the public.
“The issue of patient records are issues of confidentiality. I cannot categorically deny or accept that we have a patient like that but if in the course of investigation, the law enforcement agencies demanded that they want us to look into our records to confirm whether there is such a person or patient in the hospital or not, we will cooperate with them.
“Secondly the issue of patient information is not something you can obtain under the freedom of information act. I sincerely regret that I cannot disclose detail of the patients that come into the hospital except with their permission or being ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction,” he said
He added that, “the patient can apply that we release his medical records if he so wishes and if really he was our patient. We cannot confirm nor deny that he was our patient except if they bring evidence to show that he was our patient and we have permission of either the patient or his relatives to release his medical records”
Also speaking with Daily Trust, Reverend Hayab Joseph said he knew the father of the suspect for many years, noting that it’s just that he didn’t know that Nathaniel was the son of Mr. Ezekiel until he visited the house.
He said CAN is not concerned about Nathaniel’s name or religion but the act of criminality that he would have committed which should be addressed.
He also expressed disappointment over the failure of the Police to do a thorough check on the suspect’s background, saying that would have saved Nigerians a lot of stress on the identity of the suspect.
