The Kano State Private Health Institutions Management Agency (PHIMA) has shut down more than 35 private health facilities in the past 12 months over regulatory violations, including operating without licences and employing unqualified personnel.

The agency’s Acting Director-General, Hajiya Khadijah Sa’id, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Kano on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, saying the enforcement measures were aimed at protecting residents from unsafe healthcare practices.

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Sa’id, who also serves as PHIMA’s Director of Administration and General Services, said the agency had sanctioned more than 100 facilities during the period, although not every violation resulted in closure.

“We sanctioned over 100 facilities for one mistake or the other. But those that committed gross violations that we cannot overlook, we shut down over 35,” she said.

She identified operating without a valid licence, failing to renew annual registration and employing personnel without the required qualifications as some of the major breaches discovered during routine inspections.

Sa’id explained that some facilities were temporarily closed to give their operators an opportunity to correct identified violations and meet regulatory requirements before reopening.

However, she warned that facilities found responsible for serious breaches could be permanently delisted from the agency’s register.

“Once a facility is delisted, it will not be registered again. The person holding the professional licence will also not be allowed to register another facility,” she said.

The warning signals a tougher approach to operators who repeatedly breach regulatory standards or commit violations considered too serious to overlook.

PHIMA’s responsibilities extend beyond private hospitals and clinics.

According to Sa’id, its oversight covers nursing and maternity homes, diagnostic laboratories, dental centres, beauty salons, spas, fitness centres and practitioners of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine.

The acting director-general said PHIMA was working with other government agencies and security operatives to identify and close illegal health facilities across Kano State.

She cited a recent case involving a clinic that the agency had sealed and delisted but which later reopened at another location.

The facility was identified by an inter-agency task force established by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, she said.

The case highlights the enforcement challenges regulators face when operators resume activities after their facilities have been shut down.

Sa’id said PHIMA was strengthening routine inspections across Kano’s 44 local government areas to improve compliance with licensing rules and professional standards.

She added that additional funding and operational vehicles would help the agency expand its inspection coverage and respond more effectively to violations.

Sa’id urged private healthcare operators to obtain the required licences, renew their registrations on time and ensure that only appropriately qualified personnel provide healthcare services.

The enforcement drive comes as regulators seek to ensure that facilities offering medical and related services meet minimum operational and professional requirements.

Licensing and staffing standards are intended to help protect patients by ensuring that healthcare services are provided by authorised facilities and qualified personnel.

However, the agency did not provide a facility-by-facility breakdown of the closures or specify how many of the more than 35 facilities might be eligible to reopen after correcting their violations.

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Residents seeking private healthcare services should confirm that a facility is properly registered and that the personnel providing care have the required professional qualifications.