Police apprehend hospital manager over Rivers graduate’s death

The management of the private medical center Paragon Clinics and Imaging Diagnosis, which is situated along Stadium Road in the state capital of Port Harcourt, has been verified to have been arrested by the Rivers State Police Command.

Rebekah Sekidika, a first-class graduate of Micro Biology from Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State, was identified at the hospital, and the police indicated that her death was the result of an inquiry.

Sampson Sekidika, the deceased’s father, had disclosed that on February 2, 2024, his daughter passed away in the hospital during a procedure.

Sekidika said his daughter, 24, did not need surgery, and he blamed the people who carried out the treatment on her.

Rebekah was healthy and free of any medical conditions, he said, adding that he drove her to the facility. Before leaving for her international vacation, he needed to send Rebekah an SMS because her menstruation had been delayed.

She had not seen her period in a while, which was the issue. She had to know why that was the case. They gave her several tests during the clinical appointment, including a pregnancy test, which turned out to be negative overall.

But, they advised her to consult an expert just to be sure. She was given anesthesia for a straightforward operation that didn’t require surgery on the day of the appointment, but she later died from complications.

For her master’s and doctoral programs, Rebeccah was scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom. “Everything was arranged, paid for, including the flight and tuition,” the upset father said.

The manager’s detention was verified to our correspondent on Sunday by Grace Iringe-Koko, the state police command spokesperson.

Iringe-Koko expressed shock that the anesthesiologist and doctor had not accepted an earlier request from the police.

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“Yes, I can verify that the manager has been taken into custody,” she said. The doctor and one other person have also been invited as part of our probe.

“For a proper investigation, the matter has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.”

She added that because there was no direct connection between their work at the facility and the incident, the two other people who were also detained have been freed.