Hoodlums Loot, Vandalise FG’s 80-Bed Specialist Hospital in Oyo

Unidentified hoodlums have vandalised and looted the Federal Government’s 80-bed Mother and Child Specialist Hospital in Pakiotan, located in Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The facility—fully equipped with hospital beds, drugs, laboratory equipment, solar power systems, and other medical consumables—was designed to serve as an urban healthcare centre. It was facilitated by the former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, completed and inaugurated on May 27, 2023, and officially handed over to the Federal Ministry of Health through the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

On Wednesday, the Onipakiotan of Pakiotan, Oba James Ojo, led journalists on a tour of the vandalised hospital, expressing deep concern over the destruction.

He recalled, “Some cables were vandalised even before the inauguration, and replaced by the former minister, Dare.”

“The destruction of this infrastructure has become a major concern for the community and requires urgent and coordinated action,” the monarch said. “We must ensure that those who willfully destroy or vandalise public property are held accountable. As the saying goes, offenders must be brought to book or the book brought to them.”

Oba Ojo lamented the lack of activity at the facility since its handover, adding, “We have no access to the facility, and there’s no security. Recently, we noticed signs of intrusion, and when one of Dare’s aides joined us to inspect the site, we were shocked to discover that all the cables, 150 solar batteries, electrical appliances, ceiling fans, and other valuable items had been removed.”

He noted that the hospital was built on eight plots of land donated by the community to improve maternal and child healthcare in the region.

“However, the facility has remained idle for more than a year after commissioning,” he said, urging the Federal Ministry of Health through UCH to either operationalise the hospital or hand it over to the community for proper use.

“If the hospital had been put to use, such incidents would not have happened,” he added.

Also reacting, the Chairman of Ogbomoso North Local Government, Ogunlade Gbadegesin, condemned the abandonment of the health centre.

“So many valuable medical items have been looted, and others are at risk,” he said. “We will engage security personnel to safeguard what remains until the hospital is finally put into use.”