An alleged quack doctor, Celestine Yolonfun, who has been practicing
in Lagos State for 11 years, after he dropped out of a nursing school in the
Benin Republic has been paraded by police in the state, after his arrest at
Apapa area.
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, told The PUNCH 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.”
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