In response to an investigative report published earlier on Saturday by PREMIUM TIMES, the authorities at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), have apprehended the official who engages in the commercialisation of COVID-19 testing and vaccination at a centre located within the hospital.

The official, Solomon Oriere, who claimed to be a nurse at the hospital, occupies a makeshift office near the LASUTH quarantine holding bay, and is a go-to man for anyone in need of either COVID-19 valid test results or vaccination cards.

The official, alongside other unnamed accomplices, charges N25,000 for vaccination cards without jabs and N40,000 for testing.

Arrest

In a swift reaction to the development the management of the hospital ordered immediate investigation into the matter and subsequently paraded Mr Solomon.

The video of the parade was shared by the management with the newspaper.

Confirming the development, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of LASUTH, Adetokunbo Fabamwo, said “Mr Solomon is now on his way to the Area F Police Command in Ikeja, where he will further be interrogated on all the nefarious activities he had been carrying out”.

He also confirmed that as against Mr Solomon’s claim, he is not a staffer of the hospital but rather works with one of its cleaning facility management companies.

“You will agree that our premises is quite large, and it’s a public facility and all sorts of people come in and checked and all sorts of activities may take place.

“But I will also agree that it is our responsibility to try as much as possible to ensure that all our service areas are free of criminals and criminally minded people,” he said.

While it is still not clear how Mr Solomom got access to NPHCDA resources and the official website for uploads, the LASUTH CMD has assured that the quarantine holding bay will be searched and the hospital management will keep a close watch on it.

In the video to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Solomon also confirmed he is not a LASUTH staff and the hospital is not aware of his activities.