Tributes have been pouring in for a young medical doctor, Valentine Egbabon, 32 who reportedly died of coronavirus at the Yaba COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit in Lagos.
In a series of tweets by the late Egbabon’s colleagues, he died on Monday after testing positive to the virus three weeks ago.
The aspiring surgeon was on the frontline treating injured protesters as the #EndSars agitations against police brutality intensified nationwide.
Today is a sad day! My colleague and classmate @ehival lost his life after testing positive for COVID-19 three weeks ago. He was an active young man with beautiful family and a bright future ahead of him. May his soul rest in perfect peace. No one is safe”, Cassandra Akinde, Medical Doctor and Chevening Scholar tweeted on Monday.
Another doctor and social media influencer, Nonso Egembe, better known by as “Aproko doctor” also threw in rousing tributes for the late Egbabon
“Rest in Peace, Dr Val COVID-19 took you from us but it can’t erase your memories. You were fit as a fiddle. You live on in our hearts. Rest on brother. Rest on”.
Dr. Olufunmilayo Harvey @Yourfaveonlinedoc, another medical doctor practicing in the United Kingdom also wrote on his Twitter timeline “A young medical doctor @ehival has died from COVID-19. This is very sad and heartbreaking. I just checked his page again now. He even used RIP Jimoh and #EndSARS as profile name. He believed in Nigeria. He wanted a better country. Today he is gone. May God comfort his family.”
Harvey also shared a compelling video of the late doctor speaking against the shooting of protesters by armed soldiers at the Lekki Toll Plaza on the 20th of October while another video of him treating an injured protester also surfaced online.
The Director-General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu last month had warned against the second wave of COVID-19 which according to him is not inevitable in Nigeria if citizens do not continue to adhere to measures put in place to contain the viral pandemic.
There have been reactions from Nigerians on Tweeter and across other social media platforms who have been praying for the repose of his soul and comfort for Egemba’s family.
“We have to come together as a society. Nobody in this country wants another lockdown and we are hoping that we have learnt enough from the consequences of the first one to prevent the second one,” Ihekweazu said.
The NCDC boss urged Nigerians to collectively work towards containing the spread of the viral pandemic.
