Court jails fake doctor who used friend’s certificates for 10 years

A federal capital territory (FCT) high court in Jabi, Abuja, has convicted Martins Ugwu for impersonating and using the certificate of his friend, George Daniel Davidson, to secure a job at the federal ministry of health.

In a statement on Tuesday, Demola Bakare, spokesperson of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), said the commission filed a seven-count charge against Ugwu in February 2016.

Bakare said Ugwu was charged in court for making a false statement to the federal Civil Service Commission chairman, through which he secured employment in 2006.

For 10 years, Ugwu earned N17.2 million in salaries and allowances while falsely presenting himself as a qualified medical doctor.

The offence contravenes section 25(1)(a) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

He said Ugwu also used the forged documents to obtain a staff identity card, apply for annual leave, and enroll in a postgraduate programme in epidemiology, which could have earned him a master’s degree.

During the sentencing hearing, Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha, ICPC counsel, urged the court to order Ugwu to return the N17.2 million he fraudulently earned.

Abubakar Idris Kutigi, the presiding judge, condemned Ugwu’s actions, noting the growing threat of quack doctors in the country.

He said the sentencing was necessary to serve as a deterrent to others who might attempt similar crimes.

The judge sentenced Ugwu to six months imprisonment on each of the seven charges, to run consecutively, totalling three and a half years.

Kutigi also ordered Ugwu to refund the N17.2 million he had earned illegally.

The court further ruled that if Ugwu fails to comply with the restitution order, he will serve an additional one-year prison term.