[b]Robbers sack govt hospital in Ekiti - Corps member, pharmacist critically injured

Written by Stephen Gbadamosi


ROBBERS, in the  early hours of Wednesday, invaded the State Specialist Hospital, Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State and injured two medical workers after carting away valuables from the doctors’ quarters.

A member of staff of the hospital, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said the hoodlums, numbering four, arrived at the hospital at about 1:20 a.m and commanded the security men at the entrance to open the gate, an order which they refused.

The source said the robbers, armed with guns and cutlasses, later went to scale the perimeter fence, made for the security post and locked the security men inside.

Afterwards, they were said to have made for the hospital’s quarters, entering the apartments one after the other and dispossessing the occupants of valuables.

Two medical workers, a physiotherapist and pharmacist, were said to have been injured during the attack. The physiotherapist is a member of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) serving in the hospital, while the pharmacists is said to be a permanent staff of the hospital.

It was gathered that the two victims were in a critical condition and had been transferred to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, for treatment.

Another source added that it was one of the security men who escaped through the window that sought for help from policemen on patrol.

The source said when the policemen came, they stayed outside the gate and fired some shots into the air to scare the hoodlums, which made them to flee the hospital.

A worker at the hospital said although no patient was attacked, the robbers operated for about one hour at the doctors’ quarters and stole laptop computers, cash and other valuables from their victims.

However, the Ogoga of Ikere, Oba Adegoke Adegboye and some government officials were said to have appealed to the workers not to withdraw their services from the hospital, while policemen had been deployed to the hospital.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Mohammed Jimoh, confirmed the incident, saying that the robbery operation was foiled by the police. He also confirmed that two persons were injured by the hoodlums.[/b]

http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/238-robbers-sack-govt-hospital-in-ekiti-corps-member-pharmacist-critically-injured.html