The two officials be held in custody until they fully comply with the judgment that was handed down by Justice Ebele Mabel Egumgbe on December 10, 2021.
Dr. Ngozi Unaogu, the Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Enugu, and Dr. Vincent Ubochi, the Director of Clinical Services at the hospital, have both been sentenced to the Nigeria Correctional Centre for breaching a court order.
The punishment was handed down by an Enugu State High Court. The ruling was handed down by Justice Ngozi Oji, who also issued an order that the two officials be held in custody until they fully comply with the judgment that was handed down by Justice Ebele Mabel Egumgbe on December 10, 2021.
A nurse named Dr. Afam Ndu, who had previously served as the principal of the hospital’s School of Mental and Basic Psychiatric Nursing, initiated the legal action that led to the current predicament.
After Ndu was accused of rape, murder, and carrying phony certificates, he had filed legal action against the management of the hospital.
However, the claims that were made against him were ultimately refuted. Despite the fact that the personnel at the hospital proceeded to investigate his credentials, it was discovered that the Federal Ministry of Health had exonerated him of any misconduct.
A lifelong injunction barring the hospital from conducting any further investigations into Ndu’s qualifications was ordered by the court in the verdict that was handed down in 2021.
In addition to being found guilty of defamation, the defendants, which included Dr. Ngozi Unaogu, Dr. Ubochi, and two other medical professionals, were also forced to pay damages totaling N2.5 million.
In addition, the court decided that the publishing of the defamatory article in a national daily must be retracted within a period of thirty days. On January 24, 2024, the Court of Appeal came to the conclusion that the verdict should be upheld.
The court further ordered that the publication that was deemed to be defamatory be retracted from a national newspaper within a period of thirty days.
On January 24, 2024, the Court of Appeal affirmed the ruling that had been previously rendered. In spite of the decision, Ngozi Unaogu and Ubochi went ahead and established a senior staff committee with the purpose of reexamining Ndu’s release certificate from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
They claimed that the committee was established in accordance with a mandate from the Federal Minister of Health and Social Welfare.
In light of the fact that their actions constituted a flagrant contempt for the authority of the court, Justice Oji reached the conclusion that they should be sentenced. The court issued an order that both officials must remain in custody until they show complete compliance with the verdict that was handed down in 2021.