Nasarawa Hospital Scandal: Gov Sule Orders Arrest, Prosecution of Staff Over Missing Donated Mattresses, Fans

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has taken an uncompromising stance against systemic corruption in the state's healthcare sector, ordering the immediate investigation, dismissal, and prosecution of any public servants implicated in the alleged diversion and sale of critical medical equipment donated to the Umaisha General Hospital. The directive, which has sent shockwaves through the state's public service, marks a significant escalation in the administration's anti-graft posture, demonstrating a zero-tolerance policy for the sabotage of public health initiatives.

The governor delivered the stern warning on Wednesday during the high-profile swearing-in ceremony of eight newly appointed commissioners, special advisers, permanent secretaries, and board members at the Aliyu Akwe-Doma Banquet Hall in Lafia. Governor Sule, visibly displeased by the developments, mandated the newly appointed Commissioner for Health to launch an immediate, comprehensive probe into the matter and deliver an official report before the end of the current week.

The executive action was triggered by a widely circulated video featuring Hon. Sa’ad Abdullahi, the lawmaker representing the Umaisha/Ugya Constituency in the Nasarawa State House of Assembly. In the footage, the lawmaker is seen confronting visibly agitated hospital administrators over the suspicious disappearance of valuable items he had personally funded and donated to alleviate the suffering of patients within his constituency.

The lawmaker's philanthropic intervention, valued at millions of naira, comprised 50 premium orthopaedic mattresses, 50 ceiling fans, and 40 standing fans designed to make the humid hospital wards habitable. However, during an unscheduled inspection visit, Hon. Abdullahi discovered that a vast majority of these comfort items were missing, with hospital officials failing to provide any coherent accounts of their whereabouts, sparking public outrage across the state.