A 30-year-old man alleged to be operating an illegal clinic and infecting a 6-year-old boy with HIV through transfusion of unscreened blood has been arrested by the Nasarawa State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The state Commandant of NSCDC, Mr Lawan Bashir-Kano, disclosed yesterday in Lafia that the suspect, Jonathan Ibrahim, was arrested on July 17Monday.
He said that Ibrahim, who hails from Iwashi village in Doma Local Government Area of the state, was arrested following complaint about his activities from members of the public.
Bashir-Kano said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect, who operates an unregistered clinic, last year, transfused contaminated blood to the 6-year-old boy, thereby infecting him with HIV.
He said the parents of the boy recently discovered that he had been infected with the virus.
He added that tests carried out on the lad in Lafia following frequent illness showed that he was HIV positive.
The commandant said the suspect had confessed to running an illegal clinic and transfused unscreened blood to the patient in question at his facility last year.
Bashir-Kano said the command, in collaboration with the state Ministry of Health, as well as the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria in the state would ensure that the suspect was prosecuted.
“If such persons are not made to face the wrath of the law, there would be increased cases of untimely death occasioned by fake medical treatment,” he said.
The commandant called on members of the public to be vigilant and wary of fake medical practitioners.
He added that they should report any suspicious medical personnel or outfit to security agencies for action.
The suspect who told newsmen he graduated from the School of Health Technology, Keffi as an environmental health officer, confessed that he had no license to operate the clinic.
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