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The growing population of Lagos, a city of over 20 million people, continues to place enormous pressure on some of the state’s critical infrastructure, particularly its healthcare system, where hospitals and medical professionals are increasingly stretched by the overwhelming number of patients seeking medical attention.
The state, which remains at the centre of Nigeria’s healthcare challenges, has an estimated 7,385 doctors serving its growing population. Beyond the shortage of medical personnel relative to its population, some hospitals also struggle with inadequate infrastructure, including something as fundamental as bed capacity, which determines how many patients can be admitted for medical treatment.
Yet, amid these challenges, a generation of medical practitioners, entrepreneurs and investors has built private healthcare institutions that have grown from modest clinics into multispecialty hospitals, some with hundreds of beds and facilities spread across different parts of the state.
Behind these institutions are stories of ambition, professional excellence and decades of investment. Some were founded by doctors who returned from practising abroad to establish their own medical facilities, while others emerged from partnerships between healthcare professionals or investments by business leaders who recognised the growing demand for private healthcare services.
Today, these hospitals provide specialist medical services ranging from cardiology and neurosurgery to kidney transplantation and intensive care.
Nairametrics examines some of Lagos’ largest private hospitals by reported bed capacity, highlighting the individuals and organisations behind their establishment, ownership and expansion.
7) Awele Vivien Elumelu OFR – Avon Medical Practice (50 beds)
Dr Awele V. Elumelu, OFR, is one of those individuals whose diverse portfolio of achievements makes it extremely difficult, albeit exciting, to define her by a single professional identity.
A trained medical doctor, she earned her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from the University of Benin and has practised medicine in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
In 2013, she founded Avon Medical, a 50-bed multispecialty healthcare facility in Lagos. That same year, she established Avon Healthcare Limited, a health maintenance organisation (HMO) in Nigeria.
In recognition of her advocacy and contributions to healthcare, Dr Elumelu was appointed Private Sector Champion for Immunisation in Africa by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in 2018.
Her sustained contributions to Nigeria’s healthcare sector, coupled with her commitment to entrepreneurship development through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which she co-founded with her husband, billionaire businessman Tony Elumelu, earned her the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in 2023.
In 2026, she received further international recognition when she was named a TIME100 Philanthropy honouree, joining the ranks of the world’s most influential philanthropists in recognition of her transformative contributions to philanthropy and entrepreneurship across Africa through the Foundation.
6) Dr. Moses Majekodunmi / CEO Dr. Dapo Majekodunmi – St. Nicholas Hospital (50 beds)
The story of St. Nicholas Hospital is one of medical excellence, public service and a family legacy that has endured for more than seven decades.
Its founder, Dr Moses Adekoyejo Majekodunmi, born in Abeokuta in August 1916, studied at Trinity College Dublin, where he earned qualifications in Anatomy, Physiology, Bacteriology and Clinical Medicine before practising medicine in Ireland.
Returning to Nigeria in 1943, Majekodunmi joined the Federal Government Medical Services and later played a significant role in establishing the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
His career extended beyond medicine into politics. He was elected to the Nigerian Senate in 1960 and appointed Sole Administrator of the Western Region in June 1962, following a political crisis involving Samuel Akintola and Obafemi Awolowo.
However, his contributions to private healthcare began earlier, in 1952, when he established a medical practice in a converted residential building, which eventually evolved into St. Nicholas Hospital, officially opened in March 1968.
More than five decades later, the institution remains under the leadership of the Majekodunmi family, with his son, Dr Dapo Majekodunmi, serving as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
According to its official website, St. Nicholas Hospital has a 50-bed capacity, with operations extending across several locations in Lagos, including Lagos Island, Victoria Island, Maryland and the Lekki Free Zone.
The hospital has also recorded significant milestones in specialist healthcare, particularly in nephrology, becoming one of Nigeria’s pioneering private hospitals in dialysis and kidney transplantation.
5) Fola Adeola, Fola Laoye, and Dapo Oshinusi – Iwosan Lagoon Hospitals (150 beds)
For Fola Laoye, the acquisition of Lagoon Hospitals represented something of a homecoming. Having previously spent a decade as Chief Executive Officer of Hygeia Group, which owned the hospital network, she would return years later as a co-founder of the investment company that acquired it.
The hospital’s history, however, dates back to 1986, when Lagoon Hospitals established its first facility in Apapa, Lagos. Over the decades, the institution expanded into other parts of the state, including Ikeja, Victoria Island and Ikoyi, with its former owner, Hygeia Group, further strengthening the network through the acquisition of Gold Cross Hospitals in 2017.
In 2022, Iwosan Investments acquired Lagoon Hospitals, bringing the healthcare network under the ownership of three accomplished Nigerian professionals: Fola Adeola, co-founder and former Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank; Fola Laoye, a healthcare investment executive; and Dapo Oshinusi, an entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in the oil and gas industry.
Adeola serves as Chairman, while Laoye leads the investment company as Chief Executive Officer, with Oshinusi serving on its board.
Historically, the hospital network had a combined capacity of approximately 150 beds across four Lagos facilities, comprising 53 beds in Ikoyi, 40 in Ikeja, 30 in Apapa and 27 in Victoria Island.
Beyond inpatient care, the group operates outpatient clinics and a wellness centre, providing medical services across cardiology, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics and general surgery.
Its expansion continued in 2025 with the acquisition of Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Victoria Island from Eurapharma, the healthcare arm of CFAO Group, further extending the investment company’s presence in Nigeria’s private healthcare sector.
4) Irfan Khan, Group CEO Evercare Group, and Tosin Runsewe, Chairman – Evercare Hospital Lekki (165 beds)
Evercare Hospital Lekki is a 165-bed multispecialty private hospital in Lagos, owned by Evercare Group, an international healthcare organisation operating hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres across emerging markets, including Nigeria, Kenya and Pakistan.
The Group is led by Irfan Khan, its Group Chief Executive Officer, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare management, business development and institutional leadership across Africa and Asia. In December 2022, Khan was recognised among Pakistan’s 100 best-performing CEOs by the Pakistan Management Club.
At Evercare Hospital Lekki, the board is chaired by Tosin Runsewe, a finance and healthcare executive with over 27 years of professional experience, who assumed the position in May 2020.
Runsewe’s career spans some of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions, including Guaranty Trust Bank and AXA Mansard, where he held senior management positions. He also serves as Chief Executive Officer of AfyA Care, another healthcare investment and management company.
A graduate of the University of Ibadan, Runsewe holds an MBA from the University of Lagos and studied Financial Economics at SOAS University of London. He also completed executive programmes at Harvard Business School and Cornell University.
The hospital provides specialist medical services across several disciplines, forming part of Evercare Group’s investments in Nigeria’s private healthcare sector, where rising demand for advanced medical care has continued to drive investment in modern hospital infrastructure.
3) Dr. Alex Eneli, Dr. Sunny Kuku, and Dr. Ameachi Obiora- Founders, Eko Hospital (170 beds)
The story of Eko Hospital is one of friendship, shared ambition and the enduring legacy of three medical doctors who came together to redefine private healthcare delivery in Lagos.
In 1977, Dr Alex Eneli, an obstetrician and gynaecologist; Dr Sunny Kuku, a physician and endocrinologist; and Dr Ameachi Obiora, a general surgeon and academic, established Mercy Specialist Clinic, a joint medical practice that would eventually evolve into Eko Hospital in 1982.
The hospital’s name, EKO, was derived from the initials of their surnames: Eneli, Kuku and Obiora, reflecting the partnership that gave birth to the institution.
Over the years, their collective vision transformed the hospital from a modest medical practice into a major healthcare institution, culminating in its incorporation as EKO Hospital Plc in 1991 and subsequent transition to EKOCORP Plc in 1994.
Although Dr Eneli and Dr Obiora have since passed away, their contributions to Nigeria’s healthcare sector live on through the institution they helped build. Dr Kuku, who later served as Chairman of Ekocorp Plc, has also played a significant role in sustaining and advancing that legacy.
Today, Eko Hospital operates across three locations in Lagos, comprising a 130-bed tertiary hospital in Ikeja, a 40-bed secondary healthcare facility in Surulere, and a primary healthcare and diagnostic centre in Ikoyi.
With a combined inpatient capacity of approximately 170 beds, the hospital provides a range of specialist services, including internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, cardiology, orthopaedics and general surgery, continuing a healthcare legacy that began nearly five decades ago.
2) Dr Adeyemi Onabowale– Founder Reddington Healthcare Group (Reddington Hospital & Duchess Hospital) (232 beds)
Dr Adeyemi Onabowale’s journey in healthcare spans more than four decades, during which he has built a reputation in internal medicine, hospital management and healthcare entrepreneurship.
In 2001, he founded the Reddington Healthcare Group, beginning with a cardiac centre before expanding into a network of multispecialty hospitals across Lagos.
In 2006, the group established its flagship facility, Reddington Hospital, in Victoria Island. With an estimated 132-bed capacity, the hospital provides specialist services in cardiology, renal dialysis, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics and general surgery, among others.
The group’s expansion continued in October 2021 with the establishment of Duchess International Hospital, a purpose-built, 100-bed facility in Ikeja, offering advanced medical services, including cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, intensive care and minimally invasive procedures.
Today, the Reddington Healthcare Group operates across multiple locations in Lagos, including Victoria Island, Ikeja and Lekki, with specialised facilities such as the Reddington Wellness Centre and the Breast and Gynaecology Centre, strengthening its position as one of Nigeria’s prominent private healthcare providers.
1) Dr Funsho Oladipo, R-Jolad Hospital, Lagos (275 beds)
The story of how Dr Funsho Oladipo built R-Jolad Hospital, transforming it from a modest 10-bed facility in Gbagada into an expansive 215-bed healthcare network with locations across Lagos, including Isolo, Bariga, Agege, Ikeja and Surulere, and even expanding to Port Harcourt, reflects the determination and pursuit of excellence that earned him a distinction at the University of Ibadan’s Faculty of Medicine in June 1978.
In 1980, as part of the compulsory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, the young Oladipo was posted to the Sagamu Local Government Health Centre. His early medical career also included a two-year stint at First Shadrack Hospital on Association Avenue, Ilupeju, Lagos.
However, his entrepreneurial instincts soon came to the fore, leading him to establish R-Jolad Hospital in 1982, laying the foundation for what would eventually become one of Nigeria’s prominent privately owned healthcare networks.
Popularly known as ‘The People’s Hospital’, R-Jolad, according to its own account, has grown into a healthcare organisation with over 300 medical staff, more than 190 nurses and 18 full-time consultants.
