An 80-bed Federal Government Mother and Child Specialist Hospital in Pakiotan, Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State, has been vandalised and looted by unidentified hoodlums before it could begin operations.

The facility, equipped with beds, drugs, laboratory equipment, and other medical consumables, was designed to function as an urban health centre.

It was facilitated by former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, completed and inaugurated on May 27, 2023, and subsequently handed over to the Federal Ministry of Health through the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

During an inspection tour of the damaged hospital on Wednesday, the Onipakiotan of Pakiotan, Oba James Ojo, condemned the attack, recalling that some cables were vandalised even before the inauguration but replaced through Dare’s intervention.

Describing the incident as a serious setback for the community, the monarch revealed that the hospital has remained locked and without security since its handover, leaving it exposed to intrusions.

A recent inspection showed that all cables, 150 solar batteries, electrical appliances, ceiling fans, and other valuables had been stolen.

Oba Ojo lamented that the community donated eight plots of land for the project to improve maternal and child healthcare, yet the facility has remained idle for over a year.

He called on the Ministry of Health, through UCH, to either commence operations immediately or hand over the hospital to the community for proper management, noting that the looting could have been avoided if the facility was in use.

Ogbomoso North Local Government Chairman, Ogunlade Gbadegesin, also expressed disappointment over the abandonment of the project.

He confirmed that numerous medical items had been stolen and pledged to deploy security personnel to safeguard what remains until the hospital becomes operational.