‘Dr’ Happiness arrested for killing woman, selling her baby in Rivers

By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Barely two months after he was arrested for child trafficking, one “Dr” Happiness Enyinnaya Iheukeumere aka Dr. Hagi has been taken into the custody of the police again for allegedly killing a 20-year-old pregnant woman and selling her baby in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State.

This time, Dr. Happiness Enyinnaya Iheukeumere, aka Dr. Hagi, is accused of killing a 20-year-old pregnant woman and selling her baby.

According to reports, the quack doctor who operates Hagi Medical Center, at Abohga Igwuruta market road, Port Harcourt had performed surgery on a pregnant woman identified as Racheal Sampson to remove her baby.

The woman did not survive the surgery but the so-called Dr Hagi removed the baby and sold it to a yet to be identified buyer.

According to the sister of the deceased, Dr Happiness told a nurse to inform their family that Rachael died in a car accident.

She said, “On the 15th of November 2023, an anonymous lady called us to inform us that my sister had died in a car crash. The informant sent us a fake number and told us that she got the tip-off from that number. We asked her where my sister’s body was deposited and she couldn’t say.

“We tried contacting the number she sent, but it proved abortive. Then, my parents went to Aba in search of my late sister’s body since an accident happened there. However, the police and medical personnel told my parents that no woman died at the scene of the accident.

“We reported the development to the Police, and they helped us to track the anonymous lady who gave us the tip-off.

“The anonymous lady had claimed that she was POS agent and resided at Choba in Rivers State, but that was false as we found out that she was a nurse.

“She was eventually arrested and confessed that Dr. Happiness had brought my sister to stay with her for one week but came to pick her up on Monday, November 13.

“Two days later, he called the nurse and told her that my sister died while he was operating on her and instructed her not to tell the family. He ordered her to blacklist our numbers. We weren’t even aware that Racheal was pregnant and we never took her to the doctor’s hospital.”

The nurses who worked with Dr. Happiness were questioned, and they admitted to being present when the doctor performed surgery on Racheal.

Popularly known as “Dr Hagi” of Hagi Medical Center, located at Abohga Igwuruta Market road, Ikwerre local government area of Rivers, he had earlier been arrested in October for allegedly trafficking four children to different parts of the country.

The immediate past Commissioner of Police, CP Nwonyi Emeka, of the Rivers State Police Command while parading him in October explained that following a report on a case of abduction on the 9th of October, police operatives swung into action and through intelligence Policing arrested one Mr Ifesinachi Opara, which also led to the arrest of “Dr Hagi” to whom he sold the child.

Further investigation led to the recovery of three more children trafficked by Hagi from different locations in the country.

Nwonyi said his men rescued three children abducted in Benue State from different locations in Port Harcourt, where they had been sold. They include a year, a seven-months- old-child, a four-year-old, and a six-year-old female.

This time, he allegedly sold a new baby from the mother, Rachael after killing her, then instructed his Auxiliary nurse to tell the girl’s family through phone calls that she died in a car accident.

SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the Spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, confirmed the arrest of “Dr. Hagi” and that he has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, for further investigation.

However, the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, in Rivers State branch chairman, Dr. Robinson Ebbi has said that an investigation carried out by the medical body shows that “Dr. Hagi” is not a member and has never been a member.

He clarified that there is a difference between alternative medicine practice and orthodox medical practice.

Dr Ebbi enjoined the Ministry of Health and the Police to collaborate with NMA to arrest quacks in medical practice to save the lives of innocent people.

Ends

Picture captions;

“Dr Haji” Happiness Enyinnaya Iheukeumere, in Police Custody for allegedly killing one Rachael Sampson and selling her baby.