THE Medical and Dental Practitioners Investigation Panel (MDPIP) has filed a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, challenging a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court judgment that set aside the interim suspension of a Lagos-based medical practitioner, Dr Ferdinand Ejike Orji.

The MDPIP had referred Orji to the Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal to review the compatibility of his status as a registered doctor with his conviction by the Lagos State High Court for criminal negligence arising from his medical practice.
The appeal, which hinged on the suit marked FCT/HC/CV/5318/2024, wherein the chairman of the panel and the panel are appellants and Orji the respondent, is seeking an order setting aside the FCT High Court judgment of July 1.

Orji had approached the FCT High Court, challenging his interim suspension by MDPIP, which had determined to refer the fact of his conviction for criminal negligence by the Lagos State High Court in the treatment of a 16-year-old patient that resulted in bodily harm.

Justice Kayode Agunloye, sitting in Gwagwalada division, on July 1, held that the panel acted without jurisdiction, in bad faith and in breach of Orji’s right to a fair hearing when it suspended him through a letter dated August 28, 2023.
The court also issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the panel and its officials from implementing the suspension pending the determination of the case before MDPDT.

But dissatisfied with such a ruling, the appellants filed a notice of appeal, asserting that the trial court exceeded its authority by reviewing administrative actions of a statutory body.

They argued that judicial review permits examination of legality but not the merits of administrative decisions and contended that the judge erred in law when he held that the interim suspension placed on Orji by MDPIP was ultra vires the powers of the 2nd appellant under Section 15(3)(c) of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, 2004.

They held that Section 15(3)(c) empowers the 2nd appellant to impose an interim suspension pending disciplinary inquiry for public protection and that the respondent showed no legal bar or jurisdictional defect.

The appellants also challenged the court’s reference to Orji’s criminal conviction for negligence, stressing that the conviction remained valid until overturned on appeal, and that filing an appeal does not automatically stay or nullify the conviction.

Dr Orji, the proprietor of Excel Medical Centre, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, was placed on interim suspension following a criminal conviction for negligence by a Lagos State High Court.

The suspension, according to the panel, was intended to remain effective pending review by the disciplinary tribunal.
The appeal, therefore, is expected to clarify the scope of regulatory powers of medical bodies in Nigeria, particularly concerning interim suspensions, limits of judicial review and the balance between public protection and rights of practitioners.

Justice Adedayo Akintoye of a Lagos State High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square, had on January 2023, sentenced Dr Orji to a one-year prison term for medical negligence for causing grievous harm and endangering the life of a 16-year-old patient.

The court found Orji guilty on four of the six-count charges filed against him by the Lagos State government.

The defendant was said to have acted recklessly and negligently when he fixed a Plaster of Paris (PoP) cast too tightly on the leg of the minor sometime in July 2018 at his medical centre, which caused him grievous harm.