The Medical and Dental Practitioners Investigation Panel of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has suspended four doctors from practicing medicine in the country for reasons of professional misconduct.
The MDCN disclosed this on its social media platforms on Monday.
It said, “The Medical and Dental Practitioners Investigation Panel has ordered the Interim Suspension from the Medical Profession in Nigeria, of the following registered medical practitioners: 1. Dr. Ejike Ferdinand Orji. 2. Dr. Richard Chukwujekwu Okoye. 3. Dr. Olalekan Olatise. 4. Dr. Buliaminu Adebayo Adigun.
“These registered practitioners are by this order not allowed to practice Medicine in Nigeria until the cases against them are determined by the Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
“Notices of their suspension have been communicated to them and relevant institutions to enforce this order.”
The Registrar of the MDCN, Dr Tajudeen Sanusi also confirmed the development.
Dr Sanusi said the four doctors were suspended last week by the investigative panel of the council.
Recall that in January 2023, the Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square has sentenced a medical Doctor, Dr Ejike Ferdinand Orji, to one-year imprisonment for causing grievous harm, negligence, and endangering the life of a 16-year-old patient.
In the charge filed by the Lagos State Government, Dr Orji who is the Medical Director of Excel Medical Centre Dolphin Estate was initially arraigned alongside his wife, Dr Ifeayinwa Grace Orji.
Also, Dr Olalekan Olatise is the Medical Director of the Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre, Abuja.
The investigation panel of the MDCN is the statutory body with the mandate to investigate any case where it is alleged that a registered medical practitioner or dental surgeon has misbehaved in a professional respect.
The panel is composed of 15 members all of whom must be registered medical practitioners or dental surgeons. The PD department receives and processes allegations of professional misconduct against medical doctors and dental surgeons from members of the public as specified in the Standing Orders and Rules of Procedure of the MDPIP. The Head of Department coordinates the activities of the department and serves as the secretary to the investigation.
The MDPIP is a court of first hearing in matters of alleged ethical misconduct that are properly brought before the MDCN.
The Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal has the status of a high court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and practitioners who appear before it whether as complainants, defendants or witnesses, whether or not they are also represented by a lawyer, must conduct themselves as they would before a high court. This code of behavior is equally applicable to counsel who appear at the Tribunal.
