Rivers authorities catch fake surgeon preparing to operate on unsuspecting patient, seal 8 health facilities

The video showed a young man who claimed to be an apprentice of the clinic’s operator beside the patient, who was about to undergo surgery. It also revealed medical equipment allegedly used at the illegal facility.

The arrest was part of an enforcement exercise by the Rivers State Ministry of Health, which sealed eight health facilities and arrested four people over alleged medical quackery, impersonation and the operation of unregistered facilities in October.

According to the ministry, the major discovery was an illegal health facility inside a residential compound at 27 Victoria Street, where two suspected quacks, identified as Ataisi Jephtha and Mgboawaji Edwin, were allegedly caught while attempting to perform a thyroidectomy on an unsuspecting patient.

Jephtha allegedly posed as a surgeon, while Edwin was identified as his accomplice. Both were arrested, and the facility was sealed.

In a statement issued by the ministry’s Press Officer, Edna Alete, officials said five other hospitals and two laboratory centres were also shut down for operating without registration or failing to meet minimum standards.

The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr Vincent Wachukwu, warned that licensed medical practitioners who work in unregistered or substandard facilities would also face penalties under the guidelines of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

The latest enforcement exercise comes barely a week after the state sealed 21 other suspected fake medical facilities, raising further concerns about illegal healthcare operations and the risks they pose to patients.