Eben Enasco Reporting
A shocking scandal has rocked the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), under the leadership of Professor
Darlington Ewaen Obaseki, with allegations of N40,000 racketeering involving mortuary staff for processing” and “storage” fees of corpse.
The official fees for processing” and “storage” are between N60, 000 and N70,000 payable through the accounting department where a receipt of payment is issued to the bearer of the deceased.
Although most racketeering monies paid were said to ease the stress undertaken by the deceased family while seeking to get their corpse released, it is to the detriment of the revenue generated by the University Teaching Hospital.
But the morticians cleverly ask visiting families to withdraw and pay in cash the sum of N40,000, less than the official fee to avoid any trace to their private accounts.
It was learned that these seasoned racketeering cartels are cut across the mortuary managers to the security guards whose duty is to demand receipt of payment for each corpse released before allowing it to be journeyed home.
During the periods, the security guards who are collaborators are made to look away without demanding for the receipt of payment while the corpse is wheeled away.
Our correspondent further gathered that, for the few hours he spent observing the process, more than 10 concerned families came to seek for the release of their dead relatives for a final transition to the cemetery.
Given the numbers of families that appears with such an influx of mutuary patronage, it is estimated that N400,000 is dubiously raked to line the pockets of mutuary staffers, thereby, sub changing internally generated revenues of the hospital community in less than two hours.
The scandal, involves mortuary staff who allegedly extorted money from families of deceased patients, claiming it was for “processing” and “storage” fees.
These trends of corrupt practices are also extended to the same staffers having more than one ambulance procured through the proceeds from the alleged N40,000
where they collect N20,000 per trip to convey the deceased away from the mortuary.
The scandal has raised serious concerns about corruption and mismanagement of hospital funds.
Investigations reveal a large-scale racketeering operation, with staff pocketing hundreds of thousands of naira meant for hospital revenue.
The scandal has resulted in significant losses to the hospital’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), depriving the hospital of much-needed funds for patient care and development.
When our correspondent probed further, a bystander who was waiting for the release of their deceased corpse tongue lashed the system, saying, “it has become a standard practice at UBTH and many government owned hospitals”
The allegations suggest a culture of mismanagement and corruption within the hospital’s mortuary department.
There are calls for a thorough investigation into the scandal and for those responsible to be held accountable.
The scandal highlights the need for reforms and greater transparency in hospital management to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The UBTH mortuary scandal is a disturbing revelation of corruption and mismanagement under Professor Darlington Obaseki’s leadership.
The hospital’s management must take immediate action to address the issue, ensure accountability, and implement reforms to prevent similar scandals in the future.
