Quack doctor with SSCE qualification arrested over pregnant woman’s death
Story from Hamzat Ibrahim ABAGA
Police operatives have arrested one Saheed Toyin, a secondary school graduate, who has been masquerading as a medical doctor at a clinic he established six years ago.
The fake doctor was detained by the police following the tragic demise of a pregnant woman.
The 32-year-old, operating at number 2, Lakewu Area, Ororuwo, Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State, had been posing as a medical professional for the past six years within the community.
According to ASC Kehinde Adeleke, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Osun State Command, Toyin allegedly administered care to a pregnant woman during labour, resulting in her untimely death.
“The suspect, whose highest qualification is a Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE), has been operating an unlicensed clinic for the past six years and two months. He also purportedly engaged individuals in training at his clinic under the guise of staff,” Adeleke stated in a press statement on Thursday.
In his confession, Toyin recounted the events of April 15, 2024, when a nine-month and three-week pregnant woman sought assistance at his clinic, known as Oloruntoyin Clinic.
Allegedly, due to marital issues, she had discontinued antenatal care elsewhere. Toyin claimed to have administered medication after observing her low blood pressure and advised her to return upon labour onset.
On April 18, 2024, the woman went into labor at Toyin’s clinic, where she delivered her baby but later encountered complications. She was subsequently rushed to a licensed hospital, where she was declared dead upon arrival.
Further investigation unveiled Toyin’s involvement in training individuals to become unqualified medical practitioners, charging them five thousand Naira for the programme.
Commandant Michael Adaralewa of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Osun State Command emphasized the gravity of Toyin’s actions under Section 343(1e) of the Criminal Code Act, which criminalizes reckless or negligent medical treatment endangering human life.
Adaralewa pledged that Toyin would face legal consequences upon the conclusion of the investigation, urging the public to remain vigilant in choosing medical facilities and report quack practitioners to authorities promptly.
Commandant Adaralewa said Section 343(1e) of the Criminal Code Act which provides that any person who in a manner so rash or negligent as to endanger human life or likely cause harm to any other person gives medical or surgical treatment to any person whom he has undertaken to treat is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable.
