Inside Redeemer’s Village Robotic Surgery: How Remote Operations Could Transform Nigeria’s Healthcare

A patient undergoing surgery for kidney cancer in Abuja has become part of a major development in Nigeria’s medical sector after a surgeon in Redemption City, Mowe, Ogun State, remotely controlled robotic equipment to remove the tumour.

The procedure was carried out through a combination of surgical robotics, telecommunications technology and specialist expertise, allowing the surgeon to operate from Redeemer’s Health Village while the patient remained hundreds of kilometres away in Abuja.

Chief Executive Officer of Redeemer’s Health Village, Dr Adedamola Dada, described the procedure as a major step towards expanding access to advanced medical care in Nigeria. He said the hospital’s recent tele-robotic and other robotic procedures demonstrated how complex surgeries could increasingly be performed locally at lower costs.

Dada, a former Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, said the goal was to make robotic surgery a regular part of the hospital’s services rather than a one-off demonstration. He described telerobotic surgery as “the peak of medical services now in the world.”

The hospital, which operates as an arm of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, was established around a vision attributed to RCCG General Overseer Pastor Enoch Adeboye and his wife, Pastor Mrs Folu Adeboye. Dada said the facility was designed to provide world-class healthcare that remains affordable and accessible to Nigerians regardless of religion, ethnicity, state of origin or creed.

According to Dada, the hospital’s operating philosophy is built around four principles: world-class services, affordability, availability and sustainability. He said the facility currently has five operating theatres and handles procedures ranging from joint replacements and brain surgeries to complex orthopaedic operations.

Radiology is another major area of investment at the facility. Dada claimed the hospital has equipment and personnel capable of supporting advanced research involving African patients, including a project being conducted with the University of Ibadan to capture brain imaging data from about 1,000 people.

He said the hospital’s capabilities extend beyond robotic surgery, with IVF services recently launched alongside a 16-bed adult intensive care unit and a neonatal intensive care unit with almost 20 beds. Dada said the combination of specialised equipment, critical-care capacity and remote surgical technology is part of the facility’s broader effort to expand access to advanced healthcare within Nigeria.