The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced plans to ban the use of ambulances for conveying corpses within Abuja, describing the act as unethical and a misuse of emergency medical vehicles.
The Secretary of the Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, disclosed this while briefing journalists on Friday after the fifth meeting of the FCT Executive Committee, chaired by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Dr. Fasawe explained that ambulances are strictly meant for emergency medical response and not for transporting the deceased, emphasizing that the practice poses serious health and ethical concerns.
“In the FCT, we have zero tolerance for an ambulance to carry a corpse. It is not ethical because a living person will lie on that stretcher without proper decontamination. So, we are making provisions to buy hearses in the next budget specifically to carry dead bodies,” she stated.
She also revealed that the administration had ratified the procurement of 12 brand-new, fully equipped Toyota Hiace Hi-roof ambulances (2023–2024 models), which are built to international medical standards.
“For the first time in about nine years, the FCT will get 12 new state-of-the-art ambulances. Each vehicle comes with advanced features, including a Bluetooth system, airbags, keyless entry, and modern medical equipment. They have been delivered and will be commissioned soon,” Fasawe noted.
According to her, the new ambulances will greatly enhance the FCTA’s emergency response capacity, especially following the rehabilitation of key roads across the territory.
“A journey that used to take 20 minutes now takes five. With these ambulances, it may take just three minutes to reach a patient in distress,” she said.
Dr. Fasawe further assured residents that emergency medical assistance can be accessed through the national emergency number 112, which is now fully functional in Abuja.
“We are working closely with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ensure that once our ambulance command base is completed, all emergency calls to 112 will be routed directly to the nearest available ambulance — whether from FEMA, NEMSAS, or the FCT Health Services,” she added.
The planned procurement of dedicated hearses, she noted, is part of broader reforms by the FCTA to ensure professionalism, efficiency, and hygiene in the territory’s healthcare and emergency response system.
— Hobnob News
