Ogbomoso— The Federal Government’s 80-bed Mother and Child Specialist Hospital in Pakiotan, Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State, has been vandalised by unidentified hoodlums, with valuable medical equipment and supplies carted away.

The facility, completed and inaugurated on May 27, 2023, was equipped with beds, drugs, laboratory tools, and other consumables, and was intended to function as an urban health centre under the Federal Ministry of Health through the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. It was facilitated by former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare.

The Onipakiotan of Pakiotan, Oba James Ojo, who led journalists on an inspection of the site on Wednesday, condemned the destruction and blamed the absence of security and delayed operations for the incident.

“The destruction of this infrastructure has become a major concern for the community and requires urgent and coordinated action,” he said. “Since the handover, nothing has been happening here. We have no access to the facility, and there’s no security.”

The monarch revealed that 150 solar batteries, electrical appliances, ceiling fans, cables, and other valuables had been stolen. He recalled that some cables were vandalised before the hospital’s commissioning but were replaced by Dare.

The eight plots of land housing the hospital were donated by the community to improve maternal and child healthcare in Ogbomoso and neighbouring areas.

“If the hospital had been put to use, such incidents would not have happened,” the monarch lamented, urging UCH and the ministry to either begin operations immediately or hand over the facility to the community for management.

Ogbomoso North Local Government Chairman, Ogunlade Gbadegesin, expressed disappointment over the abandonment of the project and pledged to deploy security personnel to protect what remains.

“So many valuable medical items have been looted, and others are at risk,” Gbadegesin said. “We will engage security personnel to safeguard what remains until the hospital is finally put into use.”

The incident has sparked concerns over the neglect of public health infrastructure and the need for tighter security measures to protect federal investments in rural and urban communities.