Patients stage protest against alleged robbery and rape in Edo central hospital.

Patients at the Edo Central Hospital in Benin and their caregivers on Tuesday staged a protest against alleged robbery and rape in the hospital.

The protesters appealed to the government and management of the institution to ensure the safety of their lives and property.

The victims lamented that the hospital lacked security, especially in the night.

They said armed robbers occasionally stormed the premises, snatched their money, other belongings and raped them.

They recalled that just last week, some bandits invaded the gynaecology ward robbed and raped the patients.

The protesters stated that the incident lasted for several hours.

Reacting, David Osifor, the state commissioner for health, said the incident that occurred at the hospital was a case of theft, rather than robbery and rape.

“It happened in the female ward; it was not really an armed robbery case, it was just a minor scare and we are handling the matter.

“It is also not true that patients on admission were being raped as being speculated”, The Cable quoted him as saying.

He added that police had commenced an investigation into the incident and promised adequate security measures for the hospital.