FACT CHECK: Hillary Clinton’s secret service aide not a ‘Nigerian doctor’

The secret service agent often spotted in the company of Hillary Clinton, US Democratic party presidential candidate, has been erroneously reported to be a Nigerian neurologist.

Neurologists diagnose and treat disorders of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, muscles, and the involuntary nervous system that controls the heart, lungs and other organs.

They also treat headaches, stroke, dementia, seizures, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders and neuromuscular diseases.

As the contest for the US presidency goes to the wire between Clinton and Donald Trump, concerns have been raised about her health in recent months.

These concerns got to a head a week ago when she left the 9/11 memorial prematurely after feeling “overheated” and almost slipped while about to enter the vehicle which conveyed her out of the vicinity.

TODD MADISON – NOT NIGERIAN, MAYBE NOT A DOCTOR

The agent rumoured to be her doctor, is always within close proximity of Clinton, especially during the Democratic National Convention (DNC).

While social media and some news platforms have labelled him ‘Dr. Oladotun Okunola’, Washington Post reports that he’s indeed Todd Madison, a secret service assistant special agent in charge.

Rumours of him being Clinton’s doctor in the disguise of a security aide, emanated after he was photographed with a Diapezam pen.

Diazepam auto-injector pens are used for for acute repetitive seizures.

Another proponent of the ‘doctor rumour’ was Mike Cernovich, an author who however, didn’t imply that Clinton’s aide is Nigerian.

Cernovich simply maintained that the former US secretary of state goes about with a private doctor, owing to the “medic badge” on his lapel.

Hillary’s handler is medic (see badge) and carries pen with injection. #HillarysHealth pic.twitter.com/LxlV18MRcx

— Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) August 7, 2016

“The media is completely covering up this story. We will continue to investigate it aggressively. By the way, my journalism is entirely self-funded”, he said.

THE REAL DOCTOR OKUNOLA

Oladotun Okunola, a medical doctor, is a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry.

Okunola, who graduated from the Howard University College of Medicine in 2001, is affiliated with Morristown Medical Center.

He specialises in epilepsy, clinical neurophysiology, and sleep medicine and he’s also a board-certified in both adult neurology and clinical neurophysiology.

In 2010, Atlantic Health Sleep Centers (AHSCs), New Jersey launched the Sleep Movement Disorder Center and Okunola was appointed the medical director.

AHSCs, which is the largest accredited sleep centers in the tri-state area, has offices at Overlook, Morristown, and Goryeb Children’s hospitals.

Okunola is also a member of the prestigious Neurology group, Neuroscience Center of Northern New Jersey.

He received fellowship training in epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology at Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC and he also completed a sleep medicine fellowship at Norwalk Hospital, Connecticut.

As part of his fellowship training in clinical neurophysiology/epilepsy, Okunola focused on intraoperative and epilepsy monitoring; EEG and EMG.