• Rivers State’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh

The Rivers State Government has ordered a full-scale investigation into allegations of extortion, including money-for-marks and the sale of examination papers, at the State College of Medical Sciences in Port Harcourt.

The State’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh, disclosed that following the allegations, the government has suspended the head of one of the departments linked to the alleged offences, although the specific department was not disclosed.

She also announced that a committee chaired by the Chief Medical Director of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital had been constituted to thoroughly investigate the allegations.

Oreh said that the action followed a series of complaints against the institution, which also included allegations of students being compelled to pay for the approval of project topics.

Oreh said, “The Rivers State Ministry of Health, and indeed the Rivers State Government, have zero tolerance for corruption in any shape or form.”

Dr Olisa Agbakoba has called on the Federal Government to immediately restablish an independent Health Regulatory Authority with powers to inspect facilities, enforce standards, and sanction non-compliance public and private hospitals.

Agbakoba, SAN Senior Partner & Head Medical Practice, Olisa Agbakoba Legal, made the call today, citing the case of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s son , and other Nigerians who have died as a result of medical negligences.

While commiserating with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband, Dr. Ivara Esege, Agbakoba noted that the fundamental problem underlying these tragedies is the complete failure of the legal and regulatory framework governing Nigeria’s health sector.

Agbakoba noted that in the old days, the healthcare system functioned under a robust supervisory structure. Chief Medical Officers and Health Inspectors were responsible for oversight of critical care, ensuring compliance with standards, and holding practitioners accountable.

“The last Chief Medical Officer of Nigeria was Dr. Samuel Layinka Manuwa.Today, under the National Health Act and State Health Laws, this essential regulatory infrastructure no longer exists.

He emphasised, ” Our health sector has become over centralised under the Federal Minister of Health, causing states to become lax in oversight responsibilities.

As a result, health facilities and medical practitioners operate with alarming impunity.

There is no requirement for routine submission of reports, no systematic inspections, and no effective enforcement of professional standards. Ministers of Health and Commissioners of Health have assumed roles that conflate policy-making with regulatory enforcement—a fundamental governance failure.

There must be a clear separation of functions: Health Ministers and Commissioners should focus on policy development and strategic direction, whilst independent Health Inspectors and regulatory bodies must be empowered to enforce standards, conduct inspections, and ensure accountability,” he said.

” As a medical negligence legal specialist, I must express grave concern about the recurring incidents of absolutely preventable deaths resulting from medical negligence by health practitioners across Nigeria.

“There must be a clear separation of functions: Health Ministers and Commissioners should focus on policy development and strategic direction, whilst independent Health Inspectors and regulatory bodies must be empowered to enforce standards, conduct inspections, and ensure accountability.”

Agbakoba, therefore emphasised for:

1.Reinstitution of the Office of Chief Medical Officer at federal and state levels with clear enforcement mandates;

2. Mandatory registration and periodic inspection of all health facilities with transparent reporting requirements;

3. Independent investigation mechanisms with powers to access and preserve medical records, preventing tampering or alteration;

4. Clear separation between policy formulation and regulatory enforcement within the health sector governance structure;

5.Comprehensive legislative reform to update Nigeria’s health laws to reflect modern standards of care, accountability, and patient protection; and the time for comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s health system is long overdue.

“We cannot continue to lose precious lives to preventable medical errors whilst the regulatory framework remains in shambles.

This is a matter of national emergency that demands immediate legislative and executive action,” he said.

Renowned Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie has sued Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital to Court over the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi.

In a legal notice dated January 10, 2026, solicitors acting for Chimamanda and her partner, Dr Ivara Esege, alleged that the hospital, its anaesthesiologist, and attending medical personnel breached the duty of care owed to their son, who died in the early hours of Wednesday, January 7, 2026.

The notice was issued on behalf of the parents by PINHEIRO LP and signed by the founding partner, Prof Kemi Pinheiro (SAN).

The legal notice outlines multiple alleged lapses in paediatric anaesthetic and procedural care.

These include concerns about the appropriateness and cumulative dosing of propofol in a critically ill child, inadequate airway protection during deep sedation, and an alleged failure to ensure continuous physiological monitoring.

The parents further alleged that their son was transferred without supplemental oxygen, without adequate monitoring, and without sufficient accompanying medical personnel.

They also raised concerns over the availability of basic resuscitation equipment, delayed recognition and management of respiratory or cardiovascular compromise, and an overall failure to comply with established paediatric anaesthesia, patient-transfer, and safety protocols.

According to the notice, the child was referred to the hospital on January 6, 2026, from Atlantis Pediatric Hospital for a series of diagnostic and preparatory procedures.

These included an echocardiogram, a brain MRI, the insertion of a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC line), and a lumbar puncture.

The procedures were reportedly part of preparations for an imminent medical evacuation to the United States, where a specialist medical team was said to be on standby to receive him.

The solicitors stated that intravenous sedation was administered using propofol.