Akwa Ibom- A private clinic, in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom capital, southern Nigeria, was sealed by men of the State Security Service (SSS) while the medical chief, Dr Michael Unyah was arrested Wednesday for operating illegally.

Officials of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and Consumer Protection Council (CPC) were on hand to witness the incident when Unyah was picked up from the Unsel Medical Centre, in Ikot Obio Odongo.

The state Chairman of NMA, Dr John Udobang, told newsmen in Uyo that the arrest was following complaints by members of the public who were not satisfied with the treatment received from the clinic, explaining that the clinic had been operating illegally since 2010, and carrying out surgery and abortions.

He disclosed that three patients that Unyah operated upon were on their beds and in critical conditions when the teams of SSS and CPC stormed the clinic.

He added that the NMA had referred the patients to the General Hospital in the state for treatment.

According to him, Unyah admitted to have been trained as a nurse in Calabar, Cross River and later secured a job at St. Luke’s Hospital, Anua, Uyo as a registered nurse.

“None of Unyah’s facilities (clinic and mortuary) had been registered by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. He is not a doctor; he said he was trained as a nurse in Calabar.

“Even, we cannot really tell if he is a nurse or had worked at St. Luke’s Hospital, Anua as he claimed.

“We did not see any certificate in respect of these claims. The only certificate we saw when we carried out the raid is the Certificate of Excellence Award that was given to him by the youth of the area.

“It was the relations of the lady he killed during abortion process that traced her to the clinic and noticed that she had been killed and embalmed by the owner of the hospital,” he said.

The Head of Preserve Unit, Consumers’ Protection Council, Mr Nwokike Henry said the council had earlier signalled the SSS to uncover the illegal facility.

Henry said that the body would not relent in protecting residents of the state from any unhealthy services and unwholesome products.

A resident of the area, Miss Itoro Uko, said that Unyah had 15 apprentices and dozens of nurses.

Uko said all the people in the area saw Unyah as a doctor owing to his dexterity in operating people and aborting pregnancies.

“Until the time of this incident, nobody knew that Unyah is not a doctor.

“He has been operating the clinic for a long time. He has another branch besides this.

“This is not the first time he has conducted abortion; this particular case where the lady died was just unfortunate,” Uko said. (NAN)