Mr. Simon Okuta-Agba, 84 years old in Ukpah, Bekwarra Local Government area (LGA) of Cross River state has been arrested by the Cross River Health Taskforce over an alleged fake surgeon.
The task force also closed down five facilities and arrested seven persons from Yala, Ogoja, and Bekwarra LGAs, including one Ms. Rosemary Irima who operated Divine Favour Clinic and Maternity.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suspect was arrested on January 3 after officials of the task force raided his facility, Life First Clinic in Bekwarra LGA, where he carried out surgeries on people though he was not a physician and had not attended medical school.
Dr. David Ushie, Chairman of the task force who disclosed this to newsmen in Calabar, said the facility was raided following a tip-off on suspicious deaths in it.
Ushie said the alleged fake surgeon Okuta-Agba defrauded his victims by giving ridiculously cheap surgery prices to lure them to his facility, where in collaboration with his accomplices, the surgeries were carried out, “nearly everyone who went there with medical complaints always had to undergo surgery”.
“Okuta-Agba employed other quacks who ran a laboratory, and conducted ultrasound scans; he even had untrained nurses who carried out sundry activities in a very unhygienic facility.
“On this tour, we met a total of 12 patients on admission, out of which 11 of them had undergone surgeries carried out within 4 days from December 31, 2022, the only one remaining had also been scheduled for surgery before we arrived. On arrival, we met him conducting surgery on two patients, one with a hernia and the other with, an appendix; these are the diagnoses he assigns to nearly every patient.
“However, the patients never really get the purported surgery since they adopt skin cuts with suturing while their patients are under anesthesia, the patients wake up with the false belief that they had surgery,” he said.
Ushie, who is also a Special Adviser to the Governor of Cross River on Health, said the task force observed that every patient kept their used injection syringe and needle by their bedsides which was a professional violation.
“When the patients were asked why they had used syringes and needles on their beds they said the doctors used the syringes and needles anytime they needed to give them injections.
“It is very sad to know that Okuta-Agba transfuses blood and nobody knows how he to crosses matches the blood, he has no pathologist or doctor that does the confirmation of the safety of the blood.
“Thus far, investigations show that the culprit is not a doctor, has never gone to a medical school to train as health personnel, and has no license or certificate.
“The same is the case with all his staff that works with him, while Life First Clinic, Ukpah, is not registered with the Cross River Ministry of Health as a health service provider,” he said.
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