Patients shut Benin Central hospital over armed robbery attacks

Following alleged incessant armed robbery attack, patients receiving treatment at the Benin Central Hospital on Tuesday shut down entrance gates to the hospital.

Protesting patients who were women overpowered the security guards at the gate who tried to stop them and padlock the gate with their own keys.

It was further gathered that the protest was as a result of the armed robbery attack in the maternity ward of the hospital.

The spokesperson of the protesters, Loveth Ogenekaro, said the protest was to register their grievances over what she described as incessant robbery incident in the hospital.

She said, “last Sunday at about 1am, armed robbers through the ceiling entered the maternity ward and disposed a patient’s relation of N100,000 and three phones.

“This is not the first time of robbery attack in the hospital, last week patients at the accident and emergency ward were also robbed and the management is not doing anything about it.”

According to her, after the attack, they briefed the hospital management of the development but nothing was done about it, saying that the management only came to the ward to access the situation without addressing the patients who were traumatise by the attack.

”The money was meant to settle the hospital bill of the patient who delivered at the hospital. I was the one who borrowed her N5000 to buy drugs,” she said.

She however attributed the development to poor security situation in the hospital.

The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Philip Ugbodaga, addressed the protesters and assured them that adequate security would be provided.

He said, “When the incident happened, I reported the matter to the police and our security guard were able to get one the robbers and was handed over to the police. We have requested for police presence at night.”

He said they believe that the robbery was done in collaboration with an insider because when they entered the ward, they didn’t even ask for the money, but went straight to where the money was kept to pick it.