The Rivers State Government has sealed five health facilities and a patent medicine store across the state over alleged medical quackery, child trafficking, impersonation and other illegal activities.
It also arrested seven suspects in connection with the operation.
The affected facilities are PLARIV Hospital and Good Shepherd Hospital in Omoku; Blessed GoodNews Clinic and ESTATE Clinic in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, respectively; EL DONA Hospital in Elekahia, Port Harcourt; and a patent medicine store in Ndele, Emohua Local Government Area.
The Chairman of the Rivers State Anti-Quackery Committee and Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr Vincent Wachukwu, disclosed this during a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
He said the facilities were identified through intelligence reports, complaints from residents and investigations carried out by the committee with support from security agencies.
Wachukwu explained that the closures were not based solely on a lack of registration or licenses.
According to him, investigations uncovered alleged offences including the operation of health facilities by unqualified persons, unlawful surgeries, certificate forgery, impersonation, illegal training of auxiliary nurses and alleged child trafficking.
“We sealed about six healthcare facilities, and I have mentioned the names. We arrested about seven persons in all,” Wachukwu said.
One of the most serious cases, he said, involved EL DONA Hospital in Elekahia, Port Harcourt, where the proprietor is alleged to have engaged in child trafficking.
Wachukwu alleged that women who delivered babies at the facility were sometimes told their newborns had died, while the babies were allegedly taken away and sold.
“Women go there to deliver. She has dead babies that she will exchange and tell the woman, maybe if you didn’t hear your baby cry, she will tell them their baby died and will show the dead baby in exchange for their babies and will end up selling the real, live babies,” he stated.
He said the hospital had been sealed and the proprietor arrested, adding that the Ministry of Health would support the police to ensure full prosecution of the case.
The Permanent Secretary-designate also disclosed that a patent medicine store in Ndele was shut down following the death of a 20-year-old woman who allegedly received an injection from an untrained operator.
According to him, the deceased had just completed secondary school, written the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and was awaiting admission when the incident occurred.
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He said the principal suspect was not at the facility when officials arrived, but efforts were ongoing to arrest her.
Wachukwu further revealed that PLARIV Hospital on Kreigeni Road in Omoku was sealed after investigators allegedly discovered it was being operated by a non-medical practitioner identified as Philip Andrew from Plateau State.
“He conducts surgery without training or a license. He runs a training institution for auxiliary nurses,” he said.
He said more than 60 people were found undergoing training at the facility.
He added that officials also discovered that the hospital lacked a Certificate of Standard and a Certificate of Registration.
At Good Shepherd Hospital on Nkaru Street in Omoku, the ministry alleged that its operator, Mr Onanife Sago, a psychology graduate, forged Medical and Dental Council certificates and used them to establish and run the facility.
The suspect was arrested and is facing prosecution.
Blessed GoodNews Clinic on Bonny Street in Port Harcourt was also sealed after investigations allegedly showed that non-medical practitioners were operating the facility using certificates belonging to medical doctors.
Wachukwu said officials found patients receiving treatment at the clinic despite the absence of qualified medical personnel.
The committee also shut down ESTATE Clinic in Okahia Estate, off the East-West Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, for allegedly operating without registration and a valid licence.
He added that the clinic had previously been sealed by the government but resumed operations after breaking the seal.
Accompanied by the Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association in Rivers State, Prof. Ureh Oparaodu, and the Co-Chairman of the State Anti-Quackery Committee, Dr Hope Avundah, Wachukwu said the state’s campaign against illegal medical practice had recorded significant progress over the past two years.
“This fight has been on for the past two years and some months, and we have made some very significant progress,” he said.
He disclosed that one suspect arrested in an earlier operation for certificate forgery had already been successfully prosecuted, while several other cases remain before the courts.
Wachukwu said the ministry would continue working with the police, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other stakeholders to eliminate quackery in the health sector.
He also revealed plans to create a database of registered healthcare facilities to help residents verify legitimate hospitals and clinics.
He encouraged members of the public and the media to continue reporting suspicious activities, noting that many of the discoveries were made through whistleblower information.
Wachukwu further warned that non-governmental organisations, private hospitals, religious bodies and other groups must obtain approval from the Ministry of Health before conducting medical outreaches or free healthcare services in the state.
While assuring legitimate healthcare providers of government support, he said the anti-quackery campaign would continue across Rivers State.
“Now, because we don’t want to rest on our laurels, knowing full well that as you fight, they fight back. It’s just like corruption. You fight corruption, corruption fights back. That is what is happening in the health sector. But by God’s grace, doing the bit we are doing and with your support, I believe we are winning the race,” he said.
