Health
Alleged Organ Harvests: Court Rejects MD’s Plea To Visit Son Abroad
By Joy Kaka
An FCT High Court in Zuba, on Wednesday dismissed the application filed by the Medical Director, Alliance Hospital, Dr Christopher Otabor asking for variation of his bail conditions.
Justice Kezziah Ogbonnaya held that granting the application would not be in the interest of justice adding that Otabor’s wife or close relative can give psychological support to his sick son.
“There is nothing to prove or establish the nature of the sickness or hospital the defendant’s son is, the defendant’s International passport is the only surety the court has,” she said.
Earlier, counsel to Dr Christopher Otabor, Afam Osigwe, SAN filed a motion dated May 7, seeking an order to vary the condition of bail granted to Otabor in order to apply for his visa to travel out of the country to visit his sick son.
Osigwe sought for permission of the court to temporarily release Otabor’s International passport so that he could apply for visa to visit his son, a medical student in Poland.
He said the motion was supported by a 17 paragraph affidavit and a written address which he relied on.
The Prosecution Counsel, Hassan Tahir, however filed a counter affidavit of six paragraphs with a written address which he relied on and urged the court to reject the application in the interest of justice.
Osigwe filed a further affidavit of 15 paragraphs with exhibit A1 is a travel insurance , exhibit A2 letter of acceptance from the school and submitted that that the prosecution counsel’s counter affidavit offended section 115 of the Evidence Act.
” The M.D has always reported to NAPTIP and has always attended court and did not hinder the trial of the matter, He is a man of wit and owns Alliance hospital and has no reason to abscond. We urge the court to discountenace the opposition,” Osigwe said in defence of Dr Christopher Otabor.
The prosecution in response filed a further counter affidavit with four paragraphs submitting that Exhibit A1 was written in a language that he could not comprehend adding that the language of the court is English.
” We maintain that the defendant has not placed anything before the court to show that his son is sick as alleged.The court is not bound to accept the conditions proposed in an application for bail variation. We urge the court to refuse the application,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) charged the defendants alongside the Hospital with 11 counts bordering on organ harvesting.
Following their not guilty plea, Ogbonnaya ordered the defendants to sign a register on a daily basis at NAPTIP commencing from March 19, except the day for hearing in court.
She also ordered the defendants to deposit their travel documents to the court’s registrar and warned the defendants to adhere to the order or risk their bail being revoked. (NAN)
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