A Federal High Court in Abuja has scolded the National Hospital, Abuja, for transferring the treatment of the former spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh, to a Lagos hospital. Justice Okon Abang criticised the hospital when he ruled in an application for adjournment brought by Metuh’s Counsel, Emeka Etaiba, in Abuja on Friday. Abang said the matter was first adjourned on account of a medical report from the National Hospital, Abuja. He said though the National Hospital report did not state the bed rest duration, the hospital should have informed the court that the defendant had been transferred to another hospital.
The judge decried the action of National Hospital, and threatened that because the court was treated with levity, it may not be inclined to receive any medical report from the hospital. “If I order investigation into the activities of the National Hospital regarding to Metuh’s medical report many heads will roll. “I have authority over the management of the hospital because they are under my jurisdiction.
The management is not above this court and the law. “ They cannot treat this court with levity; National Hospital has a duty to explain to the court what led to the transfer of Metuh from National Hospital, Abuja, to another hospital in Lagos. “In any event, I have another medical report issued by Dr Olufemi Bankole from Lagos University Teaching Hospital that Metuh is on bed rest over back pains which he claimed,” the judge said. Abang said the medical report did not disclose the location of the hospital in Lagos.
He adjourned till July 7 for continuation of trial. Mr. Metuh was arraigned by EFCC on allegations of receiving N400 million meant for fighting insurgency in the North-East from the office of former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. At the resumed hearing Metuh’s Counsel, Emeka Etiaba, presented a medical report from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. The medical report was signed by Dr. Bankole, stating that Metuh was admitted in one of the private wards of the hospital. The report stated that the defendant was admitted on account of a waist pain he claimed to been suffering for the last two months, so he was currently on bed rest. Etiaba, therefore, applied for a two-week adjournment to enable Metuh recover and appear in court for his trial. The EFCC counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, did not oppose the application.
(NAN)
