Olubunmi Dosunmi of a Chief Magistrate Court in Akure, Ondo State has sentenced Martins Duclarie, a Camerounian, to two years in prison for illegally operating medical facilities in the state.
According to facts before the court, Duclarie had been practising as a fake medical doctor for 30 years in the state. He was said to have a network of hospitals in Akure, with branches in Ala and Ogbese towns without qualification and licenses.
The court noted that his conduct contravened relevant sections of the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and was punishable under section 17(5) of the Medical Dental Practitioners Act Cap, laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Duclarie was arrested in April 2014 and charged to court, on a single count charge of parading himself as a medical doctor without an official licence.
When his trial commenced on August 20, 2014, Egunjobi Sunday a Police corporal, Hope Olajide, Director, Hospital Services, Ondo State Ministry of Health; Obaado Olatubosun, Chairman, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria; and Henry Okwuokenye the assistant registrar and head of Inspectorate Division, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, stood as prosecution witnesses.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Dosunmi declared Duclarie guilty of the offence.
The Magistrate said the prosecution counsel, Wale Bamisile, had proven the case beyond reasonable doubt and the accused was administering treatment to patients when he was not qualified.
The Magistrate sentenced him to two years imprisonment; beginning from the date he was first arraigned in court.
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