Patients ‘raped’ at Edo Central Hospital

PATIENTS at the Edo Central
Hospital in Benin and their
caregivers on Tuesday staged a
protest against alleged robbery
and rape in the hospital.
The patients and their
caregivers, who protested
around the hospital premises,
appealed to the management
of the institution to put in place
security measures to ensure the
safety of their life and property.
Some of the victims of the
crimes said that the hospital
lacked security, especially in
the night.
They alleged that armed
robbers dispossessed them
of their money and other
possessions and raped them.
They said some suspected
bandits, who invaded the
gynaecology ward, last week,
robbed and raped the patients,
saying that the incident lasted
for several hours.
Reacting, David Osifor, the
state commissioner for health,
said the incident that occurred
at the hospital was a case of
theft, rather than robbery and
rape.
Osifor explained that the
owner of the money stolen
at the hospital might have
disclosed it to those around her
and she lost it to them.
“It happened in the female
ward; it was not really an
armed robbery case, it was
just a minor scare and we are
handling the matter,” he said.
“It is also not true that patients
on admission were being raped
as being speculated.”
The commissioner, who said
that the police had commenced
an investigation into the
incident, promised that
adequate security measures
would be in place to forestall
re-occurrence.