Fake medical doctor arrested in Gombe

A suspected fake medical doctor, Edesili Vincent Ehikioya, was arrested Monday in Gombe State by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).

Assistant Registrar of the MDCN, Dr Henry Okwuokenye, told newsmen that the suspect was arrested and handed over to the state’s Police Command for further investigation.

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He stated that the fake doctor was arrested after a tip-off that a medical doctor in one of the private hospitals in Gombe was working with cloned documents.

Dr Okwuokenye explained that the MDCN’s committee on medical quackery rushed to the health facility where the alleged imposter was said to be practising.

He said: “Fortunately for us, we meet him on duty where we engaged him in an interaction which established the fact that he is not the owner of the documents.

“We were able to track him because we have all the data of all medical doctors in Nigeria, through which we can easily tell that the documents he presented are cloned.”

The assistant registrar added that the association had invited the police and handed over the suspect for further investigation and possible prosecution.

According to him, Ehikioya claimed that he was pushed into the act because the death of his father forced him to drop out of the tertiary institution.

The MDCN advised proprietors of private health facilities to always conduct thorough background checks from the relevant agencies before recruiting doctors.

Okwuokenye also warned those still in the business of using fake or cloned documents to steer clear of the medical practice and also appealed for collaborative efforts to rid the country of fake medical personnel.

He further hinted that a patient had the right to request any doctor’s licence before being treated.