The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of the manager of Paragon Clinics and Imaging Diagnosis, a private health facility located along Stadium Road in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The police said the arrest was part of an investigation following the report of the death of a first-class graduate of Micro Biology from Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State identified as Rebekah Sekidika at the hospital.
The father of the deceased, Sampson Sekidika, had told PUNCH Metro that his daughter died during a procedure at the hospital on February 2, 2024.
Sekidika faulted those who performed the procedure on his 24-year-old daughter, saying she did not require surgery.
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He noted that he drove Rebekah to the facility stating that he insisted that she was healthy and without any medical condition but needed to carry out a text following delayed menstruation before embarking on a foreign trip.
“The complaint was that she had not seen her period for a while. So, she needed to know why it was so. When she had the clinical visit, they subjected her to some tests, including a pregnancy test which came out to be all negative.
“But they told her to see a specialist to be sure. On the day of the appointment, they took her into the theatre and gave her an anaesthetic for a simple procedure that didn’t require surgery where she developed complications and died.
“She (Rebekah) was supposed to travel to the United Kingdom for her Masters and PhD programmes. Everything was set, flight booked, tuition paid, everything arranged, ” the distraught father told PUNCH Metro.
The spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the arrest of the manager to our correspondent on Sunday.
Iringe-Koko expressed dismay that an earlier invitation by the police to the doctor and the person who administered the anaesthetic was not honoured.
She stated, “Yes I can confirm that the manager has been arrested. We have also invited the doctor and one other person as part of our investigation.
“The matter has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for proper investigation. ”
She further said two others who were also arrested have been released because their duties at the facility have no direct link with the incident.
