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The Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners discovered a bogus physician named Abawulor Omenka as he was attempting to seek for a position as a medical officer at the Covenant University Medical Centre, Ota, in the Sango region of Ogun State.
According to information obtained by Punch Healthwise, Omenka registered for the position of medical officer and allegedly provided false credentials, including a photocopy of a registration certificate from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria issued in 2015.
The 35-year-old suspect also displayed a diploma from Benue State University, where he claimed to have graduated with a second class upper division after earning a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery.
According to information obtained, the suspect, who works as an auxiliary nurse at certain private hospitals, was apprehended while being questioned by three doctors about his qualifications during a job interview at the Covenant University Medical Centre.
After failing to explain why his MDCN registration number was the same as those who received the certificate four decades prior, Omenka’s cover was blown.
According to a source, the guy admitted to racketeers at Oluwole in Lagos State that he had bought the bogus certificates during questioning.
The individual initially visited Covenant University Health Centre last week to seek for the position of medical officer, according to the source.
“Dr. Ademola Adebanjo, the center’s MD, suspected foul play and set up an interview with him for this week.
“He then informed Dr. Kayode Oyelade, the Chapter Chairman of the ANPMP in Ogun State, of his suspicions. To be able to get to the bottom of the issue, Dr. Oyelade and Dr. Akin Oyejoko, an association executive, participated in the interview panel yesterday. He was apprehended in this manner.
Dr. Kayode Oyelade, the head of the Association of Private Medical Practitioners in Ogun State, verified to Punch Healthwise that Omenka was caught after the interviewing doctors realized he lacked a thorough understanding of the field.
He claimed that numerous inconsistencies in the credentials provided were found by the doctors who examined the suspect during the employment interview.
Omenka was recognized as a health assistant by his former coworkers when several of the facilities where the suspect claimed to have worked were contacted, according to Oyelade.
The individual actually submitted an application to work as a medical officer at Covenant University Medical Center, where students, faculty, and some locals seek medical care.
“As soon as they received his application, the medical director—who is also a doctor—found that the CV and certifications submitted were dubious and contacted me. I instructed him to set up an interview with the man. The interview took place on Wednesday at the MD’s office as arranged.
“We made the man feel at ease before posing a series of questions to him. He described his professional past to us, including every job he had held. When we asked him if he went to school, he said that he did, mentioning Benue State University.
“When we questioned him about the university courses he took, he basically spoke without understanding. During our conversation, we learned that he has an idea because he has experience working as an auxiliary nurse in different hospitals.
He had actually worked at the hospital that some of our known colleagues operated. Two of them genuinely confirmed that they knew him well when we called them. They responded that he worked with them as an auxiliary nurse, or more accurately, as a hospital assistant, when I told them he was trying to apply to be a medical officer.
“If you are familiar with a medical certificate, you will understand that grades don’t exist. It will only be stated that you passed when you certify the examiner when you receive a certificate as a doctor. First class and second class are unparalleled. There is no grade on our certificate. He presented that right away, and we instantly realized it was phony.
He then displayed a certificate that he said he had received from MDCN; when we saw it, we just laughed. 11,641 is the registration number. My number is 20, 815, and I graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife 32 years ago. And someone who claimed to have received his diploma in 2015 is 11,000, therefore he received it before me.
“We called one of the doctors again, and he told us that this is not the first time he would be involved in such a thing.”
Oyelade added that the suspect had been turned over to the authorities at the Onipanu Police Station in Ota, Ogun State.
In order to act as a deterrence to others, he continued, the association would see to it that the suspect was charged with a crime and subjected to the full force of the law.
In response, Dr. Azim Kunle Ashimi, the Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association’s Ogun State Chapter, urged administrators of both public and private institutions to hire physicians with extreme caution and to conduct thorough background checks.
He also reiterated the commitment of the ANPMP and Nigerian Medical Association in Ogun State to collaborate with the state ministry of health to stamp out quackery in the state.
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