Court of Appeal Fixes March 10, 2026 for Hearing in Dr. Ferdinand Orji’s Medical Negligence Conviction Appeal
The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, has fixed March 10, 2026, for the hearing of the appeal filed by Dr. Ferdinand Orji, Medical Director of Excel Medical Centre, Lagos, who is challenging his conviction and one‑year jail term for medical negligence.
A three‑member panel of the appellate court, presided over by Justice Yargata Nimpar, set the date after both parties regularised their court processes.
The other members of the panel are Justices Danlami Zama Senchi and Abdulazeez Muhammed Anka.
The appellate court will also entertain a cross‑appeal filed by the Lagos State Government, which seeks to overturn the portion of the lower court’s judgment that discharged and acquitted Dr. Orji on Count One of the six‑count amended charge.
The state is asking the court to convict and sentence him on that count as well.
At the proceedings on Monday, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, SAN, appeared for the appellant, while Dr. Babajide Martins, Director of Public Prosecutions for Lagos State, represented the respondent.
The case originated from the judgment of Justice Adedayo Akintoye of the Lagos State High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square, delivered on January 20, 2023. The trial court convicted Dr. Orji on four out of six counts of negligence and sentenced him to one year imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.
The conviction arose from his treatment of a 16‑year‑old basketball player who sustained a leg fracture while on holiday in Nigeria.
The boy was taken to Excel Medical Centre, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, where Dr. Orji, who is not an orthopaedic specialist, applied a Plaster of Paris (POP) cast.
According to the prosecution, the doctor’s negligence led to severe complications that caused permanent damage to the boy’s leg, effectively ending his prospects of pursuing a basketball career in the United States.
Justice Akintoye held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, finding Dr. Orji guilty on Counts 2, 3, 4, and 6, while discharging and acquitting him on Counts 1 and 5.
The trial court found that the POP cast was applied without an X‑ray, without the mother’s consent, and by unqualified personnel under Orji’s supervision. The judge described these actions as reckless and dangerous, noting that the defendant failed to remove the cast despite repeated complaints of severe pain, which resulted in compartment syndrome.
Dissatisfied, Dr. Orji filed a notice of appeal, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish criminal intent, which he maintained was a necessary element of the offences. He contended that since the trial court found no intent in Count One, the same reasoning should have applied to the other counts.
He is therefore asking the Court of Appeal to set aside his conviction and sentence, and to quash the judgment of the lower court.
In its cross‑appeal, the Lagos State Government insists that the trial court erred in law by acquitting Orji on Count One and is urging the appellate court to convict him on that count.
Dr. Martins, representing the state, urged the court to dismiss the appeal, arguing that the evidence at trial proved the offences beyond reasonable doubt and that Orji’s conduct was grossly negligent and reckless, falling far below professional standards.
The Court of Appeal has adjourned the matter to March 10, 2026, for the hearing of both the appeal and the cross‑appeal.
