The Head of Medical Records at the Kubwa General Hospital, Abuja, Mr. Bassey Amah, yesterday told a Special Offenses Court, Ikeja that a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani Kayode has no medical record with the hospital and was never a patient in the facility.
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Amah stated this in his evidence before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe that Fani-Kayode was at no time a patient of the hospital.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had slammed a 12-count charge against Fani-Kayode over the allegation of forging a medical report to mislead the court.
Fani-Kayode was said to have allegedly obtained a fake medical report to get bail during his trial in a sister case at Federal High Court in Lagos.
Consequently, he was arraigned for procuring documents under false pretence, contrary to the provision of Section 369 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 201 and he pleaded not guilty.
Led-in-evidence by EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, the first prosecution witness said On October 3, 2021, Kubwa General Hospital received a letter from the EFCC to investigate the authenticity of a medical report on Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode.
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He explained that the investigation by the hospital revealed that the defendant does not have a record with the facility. He insisted that the medical report purportedly emanating from the hospital is not authentic.
Oyedepo, therefore, sought to tender the letter of request by EFCC dated 3rd October 2021 and the letter of response from Kubwa General Hospital dated 13th October 2021.
But, the defendant counsel, Mr. Norrison Quakers (SAN), opposed the admissibility of the documents as evidence, he argued that the witness in the box was not a maker of the document.
He submitted that “The witness introduced himself as Bassey Amah, he is not the maker, he can’t even give evidence on the document.”
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Oyedepo, however, countered him, that, “The document tendered is a public document. It emanated from Kubwa General Hospital and the witness in the box has given evidence on oath.
The EFCC lawyer further argued that by virtue of the role the witness played in the making of the document, “He is the maker, he can also be described as the maker of the document. It is relevant to the fact of the issue.”
Quaker responded that there was nothing on the face of the document linking the witness to the document.
He said:“In any event, the question your Lordship would ask yourself is could this witness be cross-examined? There is a party who executed that document. He is not the maker.”
Responding, Justice Abike-Fadipe advised him to argue on the weight of the document.
She added: “I am not going to reject it because his name is not on it. If the maker is not called at the end of the trial, I can then determine the weight to attach to the letter. I agree with you that he is not the maker, I agree with that.”
The judge, therefore, ruled that “the letter was issued by the medical director. “The hospital itself cannot come to give evidence and can only do so via one of the human personnel. I am satisfied that the witness in the box is competent to testify,” she said.
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Oyedepo further asked the head of the medical record department, what the position of the hospital is, on exhibits earlier admitted by the court.
The witness said: “Mr. Fani-Kayode is not our patient and has no medical report in our hospital. The name is not even found there. The doctor that signed the medical report is not our doctor. The number is not our hospital unit number.”
Amah further told the court that he does not know a certain Tochukwu Eze in the hospital he works as a Chief of Medical Record.
He admitted knowing Dr. Ogieva Oziegbe that he worked in Kubwa General Hospital.
Earlier in the proceeding argument and counter-argument ensued between both counsel, challenging the court’s jurisdiction.
Justice Abike-Fadipe has adjourned further hearing to February 25, 2022.
(C)ControlTV2022.
