An Enugu State High Court, presided over by Justice Ngozi Orji, has ordered the imprisonment of Dr. Ngozi Unaogu, Acting Chief Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, along with Dr. Ubochi, Head of Clinical Services, for contempt. This decision arises from proceedings initiated by Dr. Afam Ndu, principal of the School of Basic Mental Health Nursing at the same institution.
In 2020, Justice Ebele Mabel Egumbge of the Enugu State High Court ruled in favour of Dr. Ndu in case No. E712017, awarding him ₦2.5 million in damages and issuing a perpetual injunction that barred the defendants, including Dr. Unaogu and Dr. Ubochi, from questioning his qualifications.
Despite this injunction, the defendants disregarded the court’s order by forming a committee to investigate Dr. Ndu’s qualifications, claiming the matter was still pending before the Court of Appeal. However, the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal subsequently dismissed this appeal.
On Monday, Justice Orji ordered that Dr. Unaogu and Dr. Ubochi be held at the Correctional Service until they fully comply with the court’s ruling issued on 10 December 2021 by Justice Egumbge, which included a perpetual injunction prohibiting the hospital management from further scrutinising Dr. Afam Ndu’s credentials, as he is the suspended Acting Principal of the School of Basic Psychiatric Nursing.
The court determined that both the Acting Medical Director and the Head of Clinical Services had violated the court order, particularly noting that Dr. Unaogu had formed a senior staff committee, which she chaired, to further scrutinise Dr. Ndu’s NYSC discharge certificate on the grounds that this was a directive from the Federal Minister of Health and Social Welfare.
In delivering the ruling, the court concluded that the formation of the senior staff committee by Dr. Unaogu was a blatant disregard for the court order. Consequently, both defendants were committed to prison, with the stipulation that they remain detained until there is complete compliance with the judgment issued on 10 December 2021 by Honourable Justice Ebele Mabel Egumbge of the Enugu State High Court.
History of the Case
The defamation lawsuit originated in 2017 when Nurses Buzor Maduka, Tina Okolo, Sunday Okoli, and Afam Ndu condemned job racketeering perpetrated by Mrs. Stella Achalla, the former secretary to Dr. Jojo Onwukwe, the then Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital.
Mrs. Achalla was later convicted of the crime and sentenced to seven years in prison and refund of the N15 million she had unlawfully obtained from the job scam. However, the nurses who raised the alarm faced backlash from certain doctors who viewed their actions as an affront.
The doctors petitioned the Ministry to reverse the nurses’ promotions, falsely claiming that they had attended school without permission. In Afam’s case, they falsely asserted that he was not properly employed and lacked the necessary qualifications. Outraged by the petition signed by the four doctors, nurse Afam Ndu sought legal redress, alleging defamation.
Following a protracted trial lasting over four years, Justice E.M. Egumgbe of the Enugu State High Court ruled on 10 December 2021 that “the entire contents of the allegations against the plaintiff in a Petition dated 10/7/17 in Ref; No- NMA/FNPHE/0004 addressed to the Minister of State for Health and signed by the defendants are false, malicious, vexatious, and constitute actionable libel, causing the plaintiff odium, contempt, ridicule, and caricature before reasonable individuals.”
The court ordered “immediate retraction by the defendants of the libelous defamatory statements against the plaintiff, along with an unreserved apology published in a reputable national newspaper in Nigeria within 30 days.”
Additionally, it issued “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, privies, surrogates, or any other representatives from continuously publishing slanderous or libelous defamatory statements against the plaintiff,” and imposed “a fine of N2,500,000 (Two million five hundred thousand naira) as general damages jointly and severally against the defendants for the unjust libelous publication defaming the character and reputation of the plaintiff.”
Unhappy with the High Court’s decision, the doctors appealed, contending that their letter to the Ministry of Health discrediting Ndu was privileged information. Their appeal hinged on two points, including whether the trial court was correct in ruling that their petition against Ndu was false, malicious, and defamatory.
However, a three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Hon. Justice Zainab Bage Abubakar, delivered its judgment on Thursday, dismissing the appeal on the grounds of lack of merit. The panel concluded that the appellants’ arguments did not substantiate their claims. Justice Abubakar’s ruling was unanimously supported by the other justices on the panel, Justice Joseph Eyo Ekanem and Justice Zainab Bage Abubakar.
