The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has petitioned the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to investigate and sanction Professor Bello Abubakar, the oncologist accused of forging a medical report to secure bail for former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
Petition Details
In a letter to the Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Investigation Panel, the ICPC chairman requested a formal complaint against Abubakar for professional misconduct, citing an affidavit dated 7 July 2026 before the Nasarawa State High Court. The petition urges a “thorough and swift investigation” into the allegations against the professor, who serves as a Chief Consultant Clinical/Radiation Oncologist at the National Hospital, Abuja.
The MDCN, established under the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, Cap M8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990, regulates medical practice in Nigeria. It has two disciplinary bodies: the Medical Practitioners Investigating Panel, which probes misconduct allegations, and the Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, which adjudicates cases. An acknowledgement copy shows the MDCN received the ICPC complaint on 8 July.
Affidavit Findings
The petition’s supporting affidavit, deposed by ICPC investigator Alex Omamuli, states that El-Rufai—standing trial before the Federal High Court in Kaduna and the Kaduna State High Court—filed a bail application on health grounds with a medical report dated 10 June. The report, on National Hospital letterhead and signed by Abubakar, claimed a diagnosis based on El-Rufai’s medical records at the hospital.
During its probe, the ICPC wrote to the hospital’s Chief Medical Director on 17 June for verification. In a response dated 18 June, hospital management led by Muhammad Mahmud stated that no hospital number was quoted on the report, and a search of electronic medical records using various permutations of El-Rufai’s name returned no match. The hospital confirmed that El-Rufai was not a registered patient, and no records of physical examination, laboratory investigation, or clinical history existed. It added that the report was issued without the hospital’s knowledge or authorisation, and that Abubakar is a retired officer currently on contract.
ICPC’s Medical Observations
The affidavit further reveals that El-Rufai, in ICPC detention since February, was examined at the detention facility in the presence of his chosen medical practitioner. The examination found no symptoms matching the disputed diagnosis. According to ICPC resident doctor Ebenezer Ozomata, Abubakar visited El-Rufai only twice, on 8 and 18 June 2026, each time merely checking his blood pressure with no further examination. No blood, urine, tissue, or other bodily samples were taken, and regular examinations by both personal physicians and in-house doctors showed no matching symptoms.
The investigator concluded that Abubakar issued a medical report and expert opinion for a person who was not a National Hospital patient, without clinical records, examination, or investigation, and did so on the hospital’s letterhead without authorisation.
Legal Background
Abubakar is currently in ICPC custody and could not be reached for comment. PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the ICPC filed a four-count charge against him. The charges include giving false information to mislead a public officer (contrary to Section 17(1)(c) of the Corrupt Practices Act), using his position to confer unfair advantage by issuing a false report (Section 19), conspiring with one Aliyu Bala to fabricate false information (Section 79 of the Penal Code), and dishonestly presenting the report as having the hospital’s authority (Sections 362 and 364 of the Penal Code).
Court filings indicate that the hospital’s Chief Medical Director will testify that Abubakar issued the report without conducting the required medical examination and handed it to El-Rufai’s family to support the bail bid. The director is also expected to state that the hospital did not authorise the report and that investigations showed it was false.
Abubakar is presumed innocent until proven guilty. El-Rufai faces multiple corruption-related prosecutions by the ICPC, has denied the allegations, pleaded not guilty, and accused the federal and Kaduna governments of using the prosecutions to keep him detained.
