An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado‑Ekiti has sentenced a fake medical practitioner, Olatide Temitope Emmanuel, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of murder and impersonation following the death of a pregnant woman during childbirth.
The 48-year-old convict was sentenced by Justice Jubril Aladejana after the court determined that he falsely presented himself as a medical doctor and performed a surgical procedure that resulted in the death of a woman identified as Bosede Falade.
According to court records, the incident occurred on June 24, 2019, at Erinmope‑Ekiti, where Emmanuel was running a private clinic without proper medical qualifications.
Prosecutors told the court that the defendant carried out a caesarean section on the pregnant woman despite not being a qualified doctor.
The procedure later led to severe complications which resulted in her death.
The charge presented before the court stated: “That the defendant, on June 24, 2019 at Odo Ikole Compound, Erinmope Ekiti, murdered one Bosede Falade and on June 9, 2019 at Ajebamidele Street, Otun Ekiti falsely represented himself to be a medical doctor.”
During the trial, the prosecution, led by Kunle‑Shina Adeyemo, called seven witnesses and presented several pieces of evidence, including the defendant’s statements, medical reports and photographs of the deceased.
One eyewitness, Rev. Omotade, told investigators that he became suspicious after seeing the body of the deceased at the clinic following the delivery attempt.
“When I arrived at the hospital, I saw the corpse on a stretcher while the self-acclaimed doctor stood beside it. When I examined the body, I discovered the operation had been carried out unprofessionally,” he said.
In his defence, Emmanuel admitted that he was not a certified doctor but claimed he had worked as a nursing apprentice in a hospital in Lagos State before opening his clinic in Ekiti in 2019.
He told the court that the woman and her husband agreed to the operation after he advised that a caesarean section was necessary for delivery.
However, he claimed that although the baby was delivered successfully, the woman later developed complications and died.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Aladejana condemned the defendant’s actions, describing them as reckless and dangerous.
“The confession of the defendant that he did not qualify as medical personnel yet proceeded to operate on a human being portrays him as inherently callous,” the judge said.
He added that the prosecution had successfully proved beyond reasonable doubt that the actions of the fake doctor caused the woman’s death.
The judge then pronounced the sentence:
“The judgment of this court is that you, Olatide Temitope Emmanuel, be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May the Lord have mercy on your soul.”