JANET OGUNDEPO, who visited some hospitals, writes about how easy it’s to get a death certificate with N10,000 for the living
With the payment of N10, 000, sixty-six year-old Esther Ojo (purportedly a living person) who is diabetic and hypertensive, was declared dead. The irony of it was that Ojo’s body was not seen by the doctor whose signature and name was scribbled at the bottom of a death certificate which our correspondent went undercover to procure.
Our correspondent whose mission was to expose the cartel of death certificate merchants and poor process associated with the issuance of such certificates in hospitals presented Ojo as her relative who passed away last week.
Three men sat discussing at the entrance of a popular general hospital in the Surulere area of Lagos State on September 7, 2022 as our correspondent approached the facility. Two of them were clad in the uniform of the hospital’s guards while the third person was presumed to be their friend based on his energetic involvement in the discussion.
Our correspondent spoke to one of the guards, requesting a direction to the office in charge of issuing death certificates.
The man stood up, asked our correspondent to wait for a few minutes, walked a few metres and returned with an average height, dark-skinned man who wore a blue shirt.
The newcomer led our correspondent to a bench placed outside a roofed shed near a tree on the hospital premises. The man, later identified only as Wale, made a phone call before asking our correspondent, “What do you want to use it for?” The question exposed Wale as someone who’s not new to the business.
The answer to his question generated more questions such as where the corpse was and what led to the death.
He became calm when told that the presumed relative died at home and the certificate was needed to transport the corpse to her hometown in Oyo State for burial.
Feigning helplessness and sadness over the alleged loss, our correspondent requested the financial cost for the process.
Wale responded, “It is N10,000. If you want to pay it now, I will get the details. What I will need is the person’s full name. You know the full name of the person, right? So it is N10,000.” He added that the document would be issued the same day.
He then requested our correspondent to come along with him to a different location he described as “more comfortable.”
The location was outside the hospital; a gated relaxation spot a few meters from the hospital.
Properly placing two of the chairs to face a table, Wale sat on one and requested our correspondent to sit beside him.
He asked for a paper and pen to write the details of the “dead person” and when told there was neither pen nor a paper, he stood up to get both at a nearby store.
Returning with a piece of paper, he reiterated that the fee was N10,000 and the document would be available in a few minutes.
After the required details were provided and the fee paid, Wale hurriedly tucked both money and paper in his pocket and walked briskly to an undisclosed location on the hospital premises.
Seven minutes later, Wale returned with a death certificate properly filled in blue ink, with a doctor’s name and stamp of the General Hospital, Lagos State.
As he handed over the document to our correspondent, he advised that it should be concealed from prying eyes.
Asked if the document was genuine and valid for official dealings, he asserted, “Yes na.’’
Within 30 minutes, a death certificate was issued for Esther Ojo; a pseudonym generated for a supposed living being presented as dead to expose activities of death certificate merchants.
Dead, yet alive
In the second quarter, the National Pension Commission reported that only 10,541 firms complied with the statutory laws in pension and insurance covers.
As a result, the organisations remitted N59.39bn into the Retirement Savings Accounts of employees.
PenComm further stated that in March, the total assets of the Contributory Pension Scheme stood at N13.88tn.
The PUNCH however reported in August that PenComm vowed to go tough on retirees, workers and relatives who fake their deaths and that of their loved ones to obtain the death benefit payment.
The commission stated that apart from other documents needed for verification, it would begin to ask banks to permanently close the account of persons said to be deceased.
The Head, Benefits and Insurance Department, PenCom, Obiora Ibeziako, said, “Nigerians have been dying and resurrecting. If you send us a notification that you are dead, we will make sure that your bank blocks your account also.
“We have seen people fake their own deaths; we have seen spouses fake the deaths of their partners when the PFAs start the due process. In fact, in a particular case, they were processing a man’s death benefit and he walked in and everybody picked up. The wife had actually procured an obituary announcement, everything that required to be done without the man knowing.”
He also cited the case of a man who faked his death and responded in the affirmative that he arranged his death so he could get the death benefit package his next of kin or relative was supposed to receive.
PenCom further stated that it had received complaints from retirees who stated that their pension fund was being paid into the account of their next-of kin or beneficiaries while they were still alive.
In 2018, PenCom had also stated that some fraudulent persons, after providing fake documents such as death certificates, collected the pension benefits of living workers.
Also, on July 1, Bloomberg reported that gangs were fake-killing people in India for insurance payouts.
In the report, a life insurance investigator visited the house of a lady with a payout claim, passport photo and a death certificate. Interestingly, the documents had the details of the lady he met at the door. Asked if she knew the name on the death certificate, she responded, “I am Amina. I am, in fact, alive.”
Apart from the easy ways vital documents can be obtained in Nigeria without a painstaking process, the cartels involved in such dubious activities also ensure forgery of almost everything from bank statements, certificates to sundry documents.
Another easy access
After leaving the general hospital, our correspondent headed to a federal hospital tucked in the Mushin area of Lagos State. Our correspondent joined the sea of visitors who thronged the hospital.
After passing through several turns and bends on the road, the path led to a staff and cooperative club of the institution. Further down the road before a T junction is a spot dubbed, Oxygen.
On the edge of what appeared like a generator house sat two men dressed in a green leaf patterned native wear and his partner who wore a white T-shirt and black denim.
The first man responded to our correspondent’s greetings and inquiry on where to get a death certificate.
He said, “What do you need it for? Some people request the document to claim money from the bank and to get a pension.” His response also indicated he was not a newbie in the illegal trade.
He added, “The only way to get that document in this hospital is if the person died here. A doctor will be the one to confirm if the person is dead and then issue the certificate.”
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