The Anambra State Government has arrested a 47-year-old woman, Mrs. Onyinyechi Esther Charles, for allegedly carrying out surgical procedures without the required medical and surgical qualifications.
Mrs. Charles, an indigene of Abia State who is married to a man from Nteje, Oyi Local Government Area, allegedly operated a traditional birth attendant (TBA) facility in Umueri, Anambra East Local Government Area, where she is accused of performing caesarean sections, conducting normal vaginal deliveries and carrying out other surgical procedures without being a certified medical professional.
During interrogation, the suspect allegedly admitted to performing caesarean sections, normal deliveries and other surgical procedures without the required qualifications or authorisation, and revealed that she was previously known as Eze Nwanyi before becoming a church minister, and now a surgeon.
Confirming her arrest, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike, said surgical instruments and other medical equipment believed to have been used in the alleged unauthorised procedures were recovered during a search of the suspect’s facility.
Obidike mentioned that hospital beds where patients were reportedly treated were also found within the premises, while officials further discovered what appeared to be a shrine and an altar inside the facility, has the has been confiscated pending the outcome of legal proceedings, while the suspect will be arraigned before a competent court.