The Department of State Services (DSS) has confirmed the arrest of the Principal Medical Director of Fufore Cottage Hospital in Adamawa, Ibrahim Mustapha, for operating with fake medical certificate.
Mr Bola Olori, the Director of DSS in the state, told newsmen on Thursday in Yola, that preliminary investigations showed that Mustapha did not study medicine but holds the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) certificate.
“He perfected the illicit act of impersonation as doctor in Gombe where he worked as a ward attendant in several clinics.
“He was aided in the act by a practicing doctor who gave him sample copies of his NECO result, MBBS of Bayero University Kano, NYSC discharge certificate and that of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria annual registration license, all of which he forged,” Olori said.
The director said that Mustapha was employed by Adamawa Health Management Board as a doctor in October 2015, rose to the position of Principal Medical Officer and served as such in the cottage hospitals of Mayo-Belwa and Fufore.
“Prior to his arrest, the suspect had in the last five years performed hundreds of surgical operations in several hospitals in the state,” Olori said.
The director, who thanked the state officials of the state branch of the Nigerian Medical Association for their role in tracking the suspect, said that the suspect and his accomplice now in custody would be prosecuted at the conclusion of investigations.
He enjoined the public to be wary of such unscrupulous elements and alert security agencies for necessary action.
Speaking to newsmen, the suspect said he had no regret because he knew what he was doing and that he had performed successful medical operations.
“I even assist some qualified medical doctors to do the right thing.
“It’s unfortunate that someone from Gombe were I once worked who was envious of me decided to expose me after I was cleared to be part of Adamawa Medical team to this year’s Hajj, but the person failed to qualify in that interview,” Mustapha said.
The DSS director did not mention the number of casualties the suspect caused, but Governor Ahmadu Fintiri was quoted on Wednesday to have accused the suspect of causing the death of 15 people.
The governor spoke during a ministerial briefing in Yola, saying a fake doctor who was employed in 2015 by the State Health Services Management Board was discovered to have attended a secondary school and only possessed a National Business Board for Technical Education (NABTEB) certificate.
The governor said his administration will set up a committee to fish out quack doctors in the state and bring them to justice.
Additional reports by NAN
