Justice Muhammad Liman of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday jailed a medical doctor and founder of MedContour Services Limited, Dr Anuoluwapo Adepoju, for one year for a failed plastic surgery.
The doctor was arraigned before the court alongside her clinic by the Federal Competition and Consumers Protection Commission (FCCPC) on a five-count of failing to comply with the commission’s requirements on an investigation, failing to appear and provide information relevant to an ongoing investigation.
The convict was also alleged to have prevented and obstructed the commission from investigating the said issue.
The offences contravened sections 11(1)(a), 33(1)(a), 110, 113(1)(a) and 159(4) of the FCCPC Act, 2018.
They had pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail on self-recognizance.
In his judgment yesterday, the judge found the convict guilty of the offence and thereby sentenced her to one-year imprisonment.
He, however, gave the convict an option of a N100,000 fine instead of the jail term.
After the prosecution concluded their case, Dr Adepoju decided not to open her defence. She filed a no-case-submission, arguing that no case had been established against her by the prosecutor, so she need not enter a defence.
But, Justice Liman dismissed the no-case submission, holding that the evidence so far presented before the court by the prosecution satisfies the elements of the criminal charges pending against her.
On May 5, 2023, the convict opened her case, and she was the only witness.
The convict was led in evidence and also cross-examined, after which the court adjourned the case until June 21, 2023, for the adoption of written addresses.
