The lawyer's wife, Esther Ejumejowo, died on October 5, 2019 at the Nisa Garki Hospital, Abuja, due to what the husband described as "gross negligence" on the part of doctors and management of the hospital.
An Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Anthony Ejumejowo, whose wife was allegedly killed following "negligence of doctors and management" of the Nisa Garki hospital, Abuja, has appealed against the judgment of a high court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory.
The lawyer's wife, Esther Ejumejowo, died on October 5, 2019 at the Nisa Garki Hospital, Abuja, due to what the husband described as "gross negligence" on the part of doctors and management of the hospital.
Following the untimely death of his wife, the lawyer petitioned the then-Minister of Health, Osagie Ehaniren, then-Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Musa Bello, and Chairman of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
The lawyer, in 2021 sued the hospital and two other parties namely Nisa Primier Specialist Hospital and the then-Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, who were the private and public partners of the hospital, to compel them to pay him N20 billion as compensation over the death of his wife after childbirth.
In suit No. FCT/HC/CV/2866/2021 at the High Court of the FCT, between Ejumejowo Eru-oghene, Ejumejowo David, Ejumejowo Evawere and Ejumejowo Anthony (claimants) and Nisa Garki Hospital, Abuja, Nisa Premier Specialist Hospital and Minister of The Federal Capital Territory (defendants), the claimants demanded justice for the deceased.
Delivering his judgement after a series of adjournments, the presiding judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Edward Okpe, dismissed the case for lack of merit and the inability of the claimants to call on expert witnesses to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.
The lawyer characterised the 1 hour and 15-minute judgment as a technicality, implying that it prioritised procedural correctness over substantive fairness.
He said, "The crux of the judgement is that the Claimants by not calling on expert witness have not discharged the burden of proof of negligence but this is against the background of multiple journals and medical text book tendered by the hospital in their defence.
"It is curious that the Judge refused to place any reliance in the same documents in areas favorable to the case of the Claimants. We have filed a notice of appeal against the judgement of the High Court of the FCT and just as in the past, we are resolute to pursue the appeal."
Meanwhile, in an appeal filed on behalf of the claimants in the Court of Appeal in the Abuja Judicial Division, holden at Abuja, by the claimants’ counsel, Ejumejowo A. A. Esq, J. I. Adawari (Mrs), T. J. Jack (Miss) and Agbaragu E. Esq of the Ejumejowo & Associates, Abuja, marked Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/SUIT NO. FCT/HC/CV/2866/2021, the claimants expressed dissatisfaction.
According to the Appellants, among other grounds, the appeal was filed upon arguments including: "The learned trial Judge erred in law and in fact when he held that the Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal did and absolved the doctors of the 1st Respondent and as such the trial court had no jurisdiction to look into their negligence and that the Appellants did not challenge the decision of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
"There is no evidence whatsoever either by pleadings or oral testimony of parties to support the holding of the learned trial court. The evidence of both the Appellants and the 1st Respondent rather was that there was an investigation by the Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Panel."
The Appellants therefore sought a relief of an order of the court allowing the appeal and setting aside the decision of the trial court dismissing the Appellants’ claims.