Justice Ofili-Ajumogibia lied to EFCC; not on admission as claimed - Doctor
- Dr Olumuyiwa Solanke has told a court, that Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia was not admitted as a patient in hospital, as she claimed to the EFCC
- He revealed that though Ofili-Ajumogobia had previously been admitted, she was already discharged as at when she claimed she was still admitted at the hospital
- The judge faces a 27-count charge of unlawful enrichment, taking property by a public officer, corruption, forgery and giving false information to an official of the EFCC
A medical doctor, Olumuyiwa Solanke, said on Friday, June 8, that embattled judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, was not admitted as a patient in hospital as she claimed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), NAN reports.
Ofili-Ajumogobia is alleged to have lied to an officer of the EFCC that she was admitted at the Goldcross Hospital in order to evade questioning by the anti-graft agency over alleged corruption.
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Legit.ng gathers that Solanke, who works at the Goldcross Hospital, Lagos, said this while being led in evidence by Rotimi Oyedepo, the lead EFCC prosecutor.
The medical doctor said hospital records of patients admitted on October 19, 2016 revealed that the judge was not in hospital on that date.
He said: “I got a call from Hon Ajumogobia that she was not feeling better after using her drugs, I told her to come back to the hospital, that I will come and visit her the next day.
“I phoned the hospital to tell them to be expecting the honourable judge; meanwhile, the EFCC officials have occupied the hospital and were waiting.
“I first had a phone conversation with Mr Lawal, the EFCC official, before receiving that call from Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia.
“The call I received from Lawal of EFCC was when he told me they were in the hospital, and I asked why.
“He told me they were in the hospital to see if Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia was on admission and I told him that as at the time I left the hospital, she was not on admission.”
Earlier in his testimony, Solanke, who runs the Goldcross Hospital, revealed the procedure for admission of patients at the medical facility.
“A patient usually comes through the front desk and is allowed to see a doctor who listens to complaints and makes diagnosis.
“If he deems fit for admission, he (doctor) will inform the nurses at the medical records.
“On discharge, once the doctor has discharged the patient, the nurse will take them to medical billing. Once she settled her bills, she is then allowed to go.
“She came in as a patient and made complaints to me; and after assessing her, I decided that she should be admitted for further investigations and bed rest on October 7, 2016.
“For October 7, there was a different procedure because she came in as a private patient. Also being a judge, she was accorded a VIP status.
“As a VIP, we allowed them to go straight to their wards; and the nurses are allowed to go straight to them to receive data,” he told the court.
He added: “She was admitted and placed in private ward, drugs were administered, various investigations were carried out and she was also seen by the cardiologist.
“She was discharged on October 13, 2016. And upon discharge, she was given drugs and a sick leave paper for one week, to continue the rest at home.
“At 7pm on October 19, 2016, I was called at the hospital that there were EFCC officers at the hospital.”
On cross-examination by Olawale Akoni (SAN), Ofili-Ajumogobia’s lawyer, Solanke insisted that at the time the hospital records were made, Ofili-Ajumogobia was not on admission at the Goldcross Hospital.
After Solanke’s evidence, Justice Hakeem Oshodi granted an application brought by Ofili-Ajumogobia to renew her seized international passport which was in the court’s custody.
Justice Oshodi ordered that the passport should be released and that the old and new international passports should also be returned to the chief registrar of the court before June 24.
Ofili-Ajumogobia is standing trial with Godwin Obla, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on a 31-count charge bordering on corruption.
They are also jointly charged with two counts bordering on perverting the course of justice.
Obla is facing a two-count charge of offering gratification in the sum of N5 million to Ofili-Ajumogobia while serving as a judge.
Ofili-Ajumogobia faces a 27-count charge of unlawful enrichment, taking property by a public officer, corruption, forgery and giving false information to an official of the EFCC.
Justice Hakeem Oshodi adjourned the case until September 14 for continuation of trial.
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Legit.ng previously reported that Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia's corruption trial before a Lagos state High Court, continued, with the prosecution alleging that N8 million was paid into her company's account on February 4, 2015.
According to the 12th prosecution witness and Abdullahi Lawal's statement to the court, when Ofili-Ajumogobia was confronted with her statement of account in respect of the N8 million payment, she lied about the source and the purpose of the payment.
The EFCC stages a walk against corruption - on Legit.ng TV:
Source: Legit.ng
