Get Guardian on GoogleThe Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and relevant stakeholders in the health sector to implement a recent Court of Appeal judgment on the management of medical laboratory services in federal tertiary hospitals.
The association said the judgment, delivered by the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/A/437/2016 on November 9, 2026, settled the long-standing dispute over the management and control of medical laboratory services involving the management of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), pathologists and the Incorporated Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria.
AMLSN National President, Dr Casmir Ifeanyi, appealed during a press briefing at the end of the association’s 61st Annual Scientific Conference (ASC) and Annual General Meeting (AGM), held from November 4 to 8, 2026, in Minna, Niger State.
Ifeanyi said members of the association welcomed the judgment, describing it as a resolution of the prolonged dispute over who should control medical laboratory services.
He said the ruling reaffirmed the legal distinction between medical laboratory science and medicine, noting that the profession had its own enabling Act, regulatory council, scheme of service and scope of practice.
He insisted that pathologists and the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) must comply with the judgment and restrict their practice to their statutory responsibilities, rather than perform medical laboratory tests.
The AMLSN president also urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to advise the executive arm of government and ensure full compliance with the judgment in accordance with the rule of law.
He called on the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare to issue a circular directing all chief medical directors and medical directors of federal tertiary hospitals to implement the ruling without delay.
According to him, medical laboratory departments must be headed, managed and supervised by qualified medical laboratory scientists, while the profession’s scheme of service must be fully implemented.
“Medical laboratory departments must be headed, managed and supervised by medical laboratory scientists. The scheme of service for medical laboratory scientists must be fully implemented. Court judgments bind public officers. Court judgments are not optional,” he said.
Ifeanyi further called on the Federal Government to reconstitute the governing and regulatory boards of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), which he said had remained delayed for too long.
He noted that the same problem affected other health regulatory councils and governing boards of federal tertiary health institutions.
According to him, the delay had weakened regulatory oversight, slowed policy implementation and stalled critical institutional decisions.
He added that it had disrupted training, accreditation and professional certification, hindered workforce development and reduced accountability across the health sector.
Ifeanyi warned that the situation posed risks to patient safety, healthcare quality and professional standards, urging President Tinubu to approve the reconstitution of the boards and councils to strengthen healthcare governance and restore effective regulation.
Earlier, the AMLSN president said the four-day conference brought together medical laboratory scientists, policymakers, academics, industry partners and other health stakeholders from across Nigeria and beyond.
He thanked Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, former governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu and the people of the state for their hospitality and security arrangements during the event.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, was represented at the conference.
