The Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has acquitted and discharged former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, of the medical forgery charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe delivered the ruling on the no-case submission filed by Fani-Kayode’s counsel, stating that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case. The court upheld the no-case submission by his lawyer, Norrison Quakers (SAN), and ruled that Fani-Kayode had no case to answer, as the EFCC did not link him to the offence.
Justice Abike-Fadipe further stated that the prosecution failed to present any associates of the defendant who allegedly collected money on his behalf, nor the lawyer who claimed that Fani-Kayode had instructed his law firm to submit the medical reports to the Federal High Court.
The judge emphasized, “The extrajudicial statements, which remain as evidence, cannot be used for any purpose other than to contradict the person who made the statement when he is in the witness box.”
After thoroughly reviewing the evidence from the prosecution’s witnesses, the judge concluded that there was no evidence to support the allegations against Fani-Kayode. “The prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case, which would require the defendant to open his defence,” she ruled.
Consequently, the court acquitted and discharged Fani-Kayode of the alleged offences.
Speaking to journalists after his discharge, Fani-Kayode expressed his relief and gratitude, noting that after being in and out of court for the past 18 years, he was overjoyed to finally be free.
The former minister had been facing 12 counts brought against him by the EFCC, accusing him of using forged medical reports in a case involving a N4.9 billion fraud. One of the counts alleged that on October 11, 2021, he fraudulently used a false document titled: “Medical Report on Olufemi Fani-Kayode 60 Years/Male/Hosp. No. 00345 DATED 11/10/2021,” purportedly issued by Kubwa General Hospital, before the Federal High Court, Lagos.
Another count accused him of using a fraudulent medical document, “To Whom It May Concern Re: Femi Fani-Kayode Male/60 Years Hospital. No. 32145 Dated 23rd March 2021,” before the same court on March 23, 2021. The EFCC argued that procuring and executing documents by false pretence violated Section 369 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
During the trial, Kubwa General Hospital’s management in Abuja denied that Fani-Kayode was ever admitted as a patient, and its head of medical records, Bassey Amah, testified that the medical report presented by the former minister was not issued by the hospital. Amah confirmed that Fani-Kayode was not a patient at the facility and had no medical report there.
A second prosecution witness, Abidat Bukola, testified that Fani-Kayode allegedly paid her N820,000 to procure four forged medical reports. Bukola claimed that the former minister paid her in several installments — N120,000, N150,000, N250,000, and N300,000 — for the forged documents and dictated the content of the reports.
Fani-Kayode, however, denied the allegations.
In December 2024, he filed a no-case submission, asking the court to acquit him, arguing that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against him.
