Quack Doctor Arrested After 11 Years’ Practice

Celestine Yolonfun Photo: Olaleye Aluko

The police in Lagos State on Monday paraded an alleged quack doctor, Celestine Yolonfun, who was arrested in the Apapa area of the state.

The Punch report continues:

Our correspondent gathered that 32-year-old Yolonfun had been practicing as a doctor since 2005 after he dropped out of a nursing school in the Benin Republic.

PUNCH Metro learnt that 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.

Our correspondent was told that 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 PUNCH Metro that he had been practicing since 2005 and only two patients had died in his hospital.

The suspect confessed that he paid a colleague ₦70,000 to obtain fake certificates of the Nigerian Medical Association and the University of Ibadan, Oyo State.

He said, “I have been practicing 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.”