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.
The made this known on Monday via the social platforms of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
The Investigation Panel 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
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, said the doctors were suspended last week.
“I have not been briefed fully because I am not a member of the investigative panel but the panel is one of the disciplinary organs of the council and it carries out a preliminary investigation into alleged professional misconduct but when the conclude their investigation, the doctors are set free or the matter is transmitted to the tribunal.
“However, if the doctors constitute a danger to public health, the panel will suspend them and that was what happened. So, nobody can say anything about it until the tribunal is convened.”
The PUNCH reports 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.
