By Felix ifijeh
A Nigerian cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Anuoluwapo Adepoju was on Monday arraigned before a Federal High Court, Ikoyi, over allegations of quackery.
Anu was said to have been arrested on Wednesday in Lagos by the police over the death of one Mrs Nneka Onwuzuligbo.
Officials of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) had joined the police to bring Anu to the court premises on Friday two days after her arrest.
Dr. Anu alongside her hospital, Med Contour Services Limited, was arraigned for allegedly obstructing the investigation by the FCCPC into the case.
In the five counts levied against her before Justice Mohammed Liman, the FCCPC accused the cosmetic surgeon of shunning summons by the agency to appear and produce certain documents.
In a six-paragraph affidavit of completion of investigation attached to the charge sheet, the commission said it received complaints against Adepoju from one Marlene Oluwakemi, Taiwo Temilade and Vivian Onwuzuligbo that the surgeon’s services “are unsafe for consumers,” and that she made “false, misleading and deceptive representation in relation to the marketing of their services.”
It said, “In particular, the above-mentioned Vivian Onwuzuligbo, a member of the Mrs Nnneka Miriam Barbara Onwuzuligbo (now deceased) alleged that the deceased died as a result of the failed defendants’ cosmetic surgery and she is privy to the events that led to the demise of the deceased.”
The prosecuting counsel for the FCCPC, Babatunde Irukera, said the incidents happened between April 15 and May 4, 2020, at No. 11a Ladi Alakija Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
Irukera said Adepoju acted contrary to sections 33(3)(a) and 113(4)(a) of the FCCPC Act 2018 and was liable to be punished under sections 33(3) and 113(1) of the same Act, among others.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the five counts.
Justice Liman admitted her to bail on self-recognisance in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He adjourned till July 9 for the commencement of trial.
Earlier in the proceeding, the judge dismissed a preliminary objection by the defence lawyer, Marian Jones, challenging the validity of the charges and the court’s jurisdiction to entertain them.
Dr. Anu has been enmeshed in many failed body surgeries.
The internet has been awash with several cases of breasts, bum surgeries which went awry with many of them life-threatening.
The Federal Consumer Protection Council (FCPC) had two months ago sealed off her office over allegations by victims who alleged that she performed cosmetic surgeries on them but found themselves victims of bad surgeries.
Earlier in the year, it was reported that popular Twitter influencer, @omohteee12 had also gone under the knife in Dr. Anu’s hands and had barely escaped with her life.
The surgeon had created a niche for herself as an acclaimed plastic surgeon with areas of specialisation in liposuctions, grafting and body augmentations.
Botched surgical operations have since trailed the doctor as several women have recounted near-death experiences in her hands during or after surgical procedures.
Some Nigerians exclaimed in gratitude that justice has finally caught up with the surgeon and hoped that everyone who had been affected by her surgeries would finally get restitution.
