A 37-year-old fraudulent medical practitioner and doctor has been taken into custody by the Zone 2 Police Command in Onikan, Lagos with alleged forged certificates.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Olatoye Durosinmi in charge of the zone, confirmed the arrest as he presented the suspect to reporters in Lagos on Tuesday.
According to Durosinmi, the suspect, who identified himself as the managing director of the Skylink Medical Center in Ikorodu was taken into custody by operatives of the Zonal Anti-Piracy Unit.
“Based on the intelligence gathered by the command through members of the Elepe community concerning the activities of the suspect, a team of detectives, led by SP Mariam Ogunmolasuyi, swung into action,” he said.
“The officers arrested the suspect, conducted a search and recovered two suspected forged certificates of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State and Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
“Also recovered were immovable hospital equipment,” he said, adding that the hospital complex had been sealed, pending the outcome of an investigation.
According to Durosinmi, the suspect admitted to producing the certificates electronically because he did not receive a degree from the university or an MDCN certificate.
He claims that the suspect’s sole educational background is a West African School Certificate.
According to the police chief, the suspect confessed to having six members in total, two of whom were trained nurses and the other four were amateurs.
“According to him, he worked as a Nursing Assistant at Fabo Medical Centre in the Majidun area of Lagos before establishing his own hospital,” he said.
The AIG further stated that during the course of the suspect’s three years of practicing illegal medicine, he successfully performed three surgeries: two Cesarean sections and one appendicitis.
According to him, the current investigation has shown that the suspect did not possess the necessary qualifications to operate the hospital.
Durosinmi advised members of public to come forward with information to the police whenever they have any suspicions about any illegal activity.
He said that in order to purge the area of such criminal elements, the command was collaborating with the ministries of health in Lagos and Ogun States.
Newsmen on the sidelines of the parade were informed by the alleged fake medical practitioner that he had previously performed general surgeries and treatments.
He claimed that prior to establishing his hospital, he spent two-and-a-half years learning the job from someone.
“I am just a secondary school certificate holder but I forged the MBBS certificate,” the suspect said.
