ICPC secures conviction of fake doctor using friend’s certificates to operate for 10 years

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday secured the conviction of Martin Ugwu by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court in Jabi, Abuja for impersonating and using the certificate of his friend, George Daniel Davidson, to secure a job at the federal ministry of health.

According to a statement by ICPC spokesperson Demola Bakare, the commission filed a seven-count charge against Ugwu in February 2016, adding that Ugwu was charged in court for making a false statement to the federal Civil Service Commission chairman, through which he secured employment in 2006.

For 10 years, Ugwu earned N17.2 million in salaries and allowances while falsely presenting himself as a qualified medical doctor.

The offence contravenes section 25(1)(a) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

He said Ugwu also used the forged documents to obtain a staff identity card, apply for annual leave, and enrol in a postgraduate programme in epidemiology, which could have earned him a master’s degree.

During the sentencing hearing, Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha, ICPC counsel, urged the court to order Ugwu to return the N17.2 million he fraudulently earned.

However, in his judgement, Abubakar Idris Kutigi, the presiding judge, while condemning Ugwu’s actions as a growing threat of quack doctors in the country, said the sentencing was necessary to serve as a deterrent to others who might attempt similar crimes.

The judge sentenced Ugwu to six months imprisonment on each of the seven charges, to run consecutively, totalling three and a half years, while ordering him to refund the N17.2 million he had earned illegally.

The court further ruled that if Ugwu fails to comply with the restitution order, he will serve an additional one-year prison term.