The
police in Lagos State on Monday paraded an alleged quack doctor, Celestine
Yolonfun, who was arrested in the Apapa area of the state.
It
was gathered that 32-year-old Yolonfun had been practising as a doctor since
2005 after he dropped out of a nursing school in the Benin Republic.
It was learnt that
Yolonfun was arrested on Wednesday by operatives of the State Criminal
Intelligence and Investigation Department, Yaba.
It
was gathered that a pregnant woman, who was due for delivery, allegedly died in
Yolonfun’s hospital, and her husband reported the doctor to the police at the
SCIID.
The
police went to Yolonfun’s hospital – Be Well Hospital – on Liverpool Road,
Apapa, and arrested him.
Yolonfun,
who hails from Badagry, Lagos State, said that he had been practising since
2005 and only two patients had died in his hospital.
The
suspect confessed that he paid a colleague N70,000 to obtain fake certificates
of the Nigerian Medical Association and the University of Ibadan, Oyo State.
He
said, “I have been practising since 2005. I did not attend any school in
Nigeria. I went to the Benin Republic. I sat for the General Certificate
Education two years ago. I wanted to attend a university in Nigeria to study
Medicine. But my wife fell sick and I could not.
“I
dropped out of a nursing school in the Benin Republic. I came back to Nigeria
in 2004, and I started the hospital in 2005.
“Since
I started the hospital, which takes care of general ailments, only two persons
had died in the hospital. The first patient died in 2013.
“The
second patient was that woman who died penultimate Saturday. The woman was
pregnant. She also had high blood pressure. After giving her the initial
treatment, I planned to refer her to a bigger hospital, but she died before I
could move her. Her baby also died.”
The
state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said the police had contacted all
the medical associations the suspect claimed to be registered with and they had
confirmed him to be a fake doctor.
He
said, “The suspect was arrested and was found to have been in this illegal
practice since 2005. He operated a makeshift hospital in the Liverpool area of
Apapa.
“We
found a fake University of Ibadan MBBS certificate, a fake Dental and Medical
Council of Nigeria certificate and a fake Corporate Affairs Commission
certificate in his house.
“The
professional bodies have been contacted by the police, and the suspect had been
confirmed to be a fake medical practitioner.”
Source:The
Punch
Tags
Society