The Court of Appeal Enugu Division has firmly dismissed the appeal lodged by Dr. Ngozi Unaogu, the acting Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, alongside three consultant psychiatrists—Drs Ubochi Vincent, Justin Acho, and Ugwuonye Onyekachi, against senior nurse Afam Ndu.
The case, with suit number CA/E/47/2022, contested the 2021 ruling of the Enugu State High Court concerning a defamation suit initiated by Mr Ndu.
 History of the Case
The defamation lawsuit originated in 2017 when Nurses Buzor Maduka, Tina Okolo, Sunday Okoli, and Afam Ndu condemned job racketeering perpetrated by Mrs. Stella Achalla, the former secretary to Dr. Jojo Onwukwe, the then Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital.
Mrs. Achalla was later convicted of the crime and sentenced to seven years in prison and refund of the N15 million she had unlawfully obtained from the job scam. However, the nurses who raised the alarm faced backlash from certain doctors who viewed their actions as an affront.
The doctors petitioned the Ministry to reverse the nurses’ promotions, falsely claiming that they had attended school without permission. In Afam’s case, they falsely asserted that he was not properly employed and lacked the necessary qualifications.
Outraged by the petition signed by the four doctors, nurse Afam Ndu sought legal redress, alleging defamation.
Following a protracted trial lasting over four years, Justice E.M. Egumgbe of the Enugu State High Court ruled on 10 December 2021 that “the entire contents of the allegations against the plaintiff in a Petition dated 10/7/17 in Ref; No- NMA/FNPHE/0004 addressed to the Minister of State for Health and signed by the defendants are false, malicious, vexatious, and constitute actionable libel, causing the plaintiff odium, contempt, ridicule, and caricature before reasonable individuals.”
The court ordered “immediate retraction by the defendants of the libelous defamatory statements against the plaintiff, along with an unreserved apology published in a reputable national newspaper in Nigeria within 30 days.”
Additionally, it issued “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, privies, surrogates, or any other representatives from continuously publishing slanderous or libelous defamatory statements against the plaintiff,” and imposed “a fine of N2,500,000 (Two million five hundred thousand naira) as general damages jointly and severally against the defendants for the unjust libelous publication defaming the character and reputation of the plaintiff.”
Unhappy with the High Court’s decision, the doctors appealed, contending that their letter to the Ministry of Health discrediting Ndu was privileged information. Their appeal hinged on two points, including whether the trial court was correct in ruling that their petition against Ndu was false, malicious, and defamatory.
However, a three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Hon. Justice Zainab Bage Abubakar, delivered its judgment on Thursday, dismissing the appeal on the grounds of lack of merit. The panel concluded that the appellants’ arguments did not substantiate their claims.
Justice Abubakar’s ruling was unanimously supported by the other justices on the panel, Justice Joseph Eyo Ekanem and Justice Zainab Bage Abubakar.
Contempt Looms
Following her appointment as acting MD of the hospital in 2023, Dr. Unaogu established a senior staff committee, with herself as chair and Dr. Ubochi as vice-chair, to review the matter that had already been resolved by the court in 2017. Upon serving Form 48, they claimed their actions were based on the belief that the matter remained before the Appeal Court.
With the recent appeal ruling in Ndu’s favour, the path is now clear for Drs Ubochi and Unaogu to justify why they should not be held in contempt of court.
