The federal government has filed a fresh charge against Abuja-based fertility doctor and pastor, Dr. John Abebe, over allegations of fraud, unlawful disclosure of confidential medical records and the alleged sale of a couple’s embryos.
Also charged in case number CR/005/2026 are Joje Abebe Fertility Centre Limited and Balkis Olanike Bakare.
The charge was filed at the registry of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, by the federal government through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
In the charge, the federal government alleged that Abebe unlawfully disclosed the confidential medical records of Mr. and Mrs. Mary Manga without their consent.
The case was initially being prosecuted by the office of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), but the AGF subsequently sought the transfer of the case to his office and filed a fresh charge against Abebe.
Abebe, a pastor at Living Faith Church (Winners’ Chapel), Durumi, Abuja, was arraigned on March 11, 2026, alongside his clinic, Joje Abebe Hospital Limited, on a three-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, fraud, unlawful disclosure of confidential medical records and the alleged sale of nine embryos belonging to a couple.
The embryos were said to comprise two male and seven female embryos.
According to the charge, the prosecution alleged that Abebe unlawfully disclosed the confidential medical records of Mrs. Mary Manga and her husband without their consent, contrary to Section 29 of the National Health Act, 2014.
The federal government further alleged that between January and May 2025, Abebe, described as a Chief Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, obtained N19 million from the couple under the pretext of providing specialist In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) services.
The prosecution alleged that he converted the money to his personal use, an offence punishable under Section 1 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.
The prosecution also alleged that Abebe sold the couple’s fully developed embryos to other patients.
In the first count, the prosecution alleged that Abebe and Joje Abebe Hospital Limited unlawfully disclosed the confidential medical records of Mr. and Mrs. Mary Manga without their consent, thereby violating their right to medical confidentiality under the National Health Act, 2014.
The second count alleged that Abebe breached a confidentiality agreement relating to the POreproductive health status of Mrs. Manga’s husband by attaching confidential medical records to a pre-action demand notice issued through his lawyers.
The prosecution claimed that the documents consequently became accessible to third parties, causing emotional trauma to the complainants.
In the third count, the prosecution alleged that between January and May 2025, Abebe fraudulently obtained N19 million from the complainants by falsely representing himself as an IVF specialist.
It further alleged that he converted the money and some of the couple’s embryos to his personal use, contrary to the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.
The matter is before Justice A. A. Fashola of the FCT High Court, Abuja, which granted the defendant bail on March 11, 2026.
The allegations contained in the charge are yet to be proved in court.
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