Rivers govt closes five hospitals over child trafficking, suspects arrested

By Davies Iheamnachor

PORT HARCOURT: The Rivers State Government has closed down five hospitals and a patent drug store in the state over alleged child trafficking, operating without licenses.

The government, on the move, has arrested seven suspects, including those involved in illegal activities.

The facilities shut down by the state include PLARIV Hospital, located in Kreigeni Road in Omoku in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government, Good Shepherd Hospital, Nkaru Street, also in ONELGA and Blessed GoodNews Clinic, 31 Bonny Street in Port Harcourt.

Others are ESTATE Clinic in Okahia Estate, off East West Road, in Obio/Akpor LGA; Patent Drug shop in Ndele, Emohua LGA; and EL DONA Hospital in Elekahia, Port Harcourt City LGA.

The government, however, said the arrest followed an investigation by the state Anti-Quackery Committee, with support from the security agencies.

Speaking in Port Harcourt, Tuesday, the Chairman of the Anti-Quackery Committee and Permanent Secretary Designate, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr Vincent Wachukwu, said some of the affected facilities the team visited were manned by non-medical personnel and unqualified individuals, some of whom performed surgeries on patients, prescribed and administered drugs on unsuspecting individuals.

Wachukwu said some of the owners of the illegal facilities were offering training for intending nurses without possessing the requisite qualifications to operate a health facility.

He revealed that one of the hospitals, the operator claiming to be running a hospital, has been involved in child trafficking and keeps dead babies, which they use in exchange for living one after deceiving their mothers that their offspring had died during delivery.

Wachukwu noted another serious case is a 20-year-old girl who died after the operator of a Patent Drug Store injected her with an unknown substance.

He said: “For the latest one, at EL DONA Hospital, Elekahia in Port Harcourt. The Proprietor was operating without registration. She was involved in child trafficking.

“All members of staff of the facility were immediately arrested for prosecution. We have sealed that facility, and we are going to support the police in ensuring she is prosecuted.

“Part of what we gathered from the investigation is that this woman is involved in child trafficking. 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.

“She has been doing this until now, but luck has run out for her. The ministry and the Rivers State government will do everything to ensure this woman is prosecuted.

“We also visited one Patent Drug Shop in Ndele, Emohua LGA. This is a very serious case because the operator of this place is untrained. She was alleged to have administered some injectable medication on a 20-year-old girl that led to her death. The girl just finished Secondary School. She wrote JAMB and was awaiting admission.

“A report came to us; we went there, sealed the place and arrested the people we could arrest. The operator was not around. We are still on her trail, and the community is helping us.

“We sealed a Hospital called PLARIV Hospital, located in Kreigeni Road in Omoku, ONELGA. It’s a 10-bed hospital. We got some tips concerning the activities going on there. We went there and discovered that the facility is run by a non-medical practitioner from Plateau State.

“He conducts surgery without training or a license. He runs a training institution for auxiliary nurses. When we got there, we found over 60 people under his training. We discovered that there was no certificate of standard, no certificate of registration.

“We sealed the facility, and then the proprietor was arrested and is being detained for prosecution.”

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