Fake surgeon arrested in Port Harcourt over alleged thyroidectomy on unsuspecting patient

The Rivers State Ministry of Health has arrested four persons over alleged medical quackery, impersonation and the performance of a thyroidectomy on an unsuspecting patient, The Guardian reports.

The ministry’s enforcement team also shut eight health facilities during its October inspection exercise, which the Permanent Secretary, Dr Vincent Wachukwu, said was part of efforts to curb quackery and ensure compliance with healthcare standards.

Among the facilities uncovered was an unregistered outfit operating covertly inside a residential compound at No. 27 Victoria Street, Port Harcourt. Officers arrested two suspects, Mr Ataisi Jephtha and Mrs Mgboawaji Edwin, on the spot and sealed the premises. Jephtha had allegedly been posing as a trained surgeon.

Five other hospitals and two diagnostic laboratories were also shut for failing to meet basic operational guidelines and operating without mandatory registration.

Wachukwu warned that licensed practitioners found colluding with or working from unregistered and substandard facilities would face disciplinary action under the regulations of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

He assured the public of the state government’s resolve to enforce health regulations and protect residents from predatory practices.