The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria and a public-interest advocate and observer, Muhammed Suleman, have called for a fair trial in the ongoing prosecution of Alliance Hospital, and its staff over kidney transplant saga. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking (NAPTIP) is charging the hospital and four of its staff; Dr Christopher Otabor, Dr, Aremu Abayomi, Emmanuel Olorunlaye and Chikaodili Ugochukwu with 11 counts of organ harvesting from two donors below the age of 18, and who by law are not old enough to consent.
One of the donors, a 16-year-old boy, while being led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Hassan Tahir, narrated to a High Court in Zuba at the Federal Capital Territory how he was offered N1 million by Emmanuel Olorunlaye, to have his kidney removed at the Abuja-based hospital. Meanwhile, Salaudeen Adedoyin, father of Oluwatobi Adedoyin, has since denied giving consent to the management of Alliance Hospital and Services Limited to remove the kidney of his son, while giving his testimony at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
However, in defending itself, the hospital stated that the donors swore an affidavit stating that they were above the age of 18 and were legally qualified for the kidney donation.
In the ongoing trial, Alliance Hospital further stated that the transactions between donors and kidney recipients are usually facilitated by a third party that brings the donors to the hospital for the procedure, while the hospital acted within the legal and ethical boundaries of medical practice. HURIWA, in a press statement on Sunday, noted that since the inception of the trial, Alliance Hospital has been painted as a den of criminal activity, while some sections of the media have disregarded the principle enshrined in Section 36(5) of the Nigerian Constitution, which presumes every individual innocent until proven guilty by a competent court.
HURIWA stated, “Dr Christopher Otabor has shared his side of the story, emphasizing that the kidney donor, Oluwatobi Saliman, presented an affidavit confirming he was above 18 years old and, thus, legally competent to consent to the organ donation. “The transaction was facilitated by a third party who brought the donor to the hospital for the procedure, and Alliance Hospital acted within the legal and ethical boundaries of medical practice. “Despite these facts, the court proceedings have been misrepresented to suggest a nefarious operation within the hospital. The misleading reports by some media outlets seem to ignore due process of law and the cross-examinations that have revealed significant discrepancies in the prosecution witnesses’ testimonies.”
Meanwhile, a public-interest advocate, Muhammed Suleman, who said he has been observing the organ transplant trial in Abuja, noted that three prosecution witnesses admitted before Justice Kezziah Ogbonnaya of the Federal High Court in Abuja that no staff member of Alliance Hospital discussed the donation of their kidneys with them at any point in time. He revealed in a statement that he had attended all the court sessions since the suspects were arraigned by the NAPTIP and the hearing which took place from May 6 to May 9, 2024, before the trial judge adjourned the hearing to May 21, 2024.
The social advocate said during the four-day hearing, six prosecution witnesses brought by NAPTIP testified and were “cross-examined in the trial of four staff members of the hospital – Dr Christopher Otabor, Emmanuel Olorunlaye, Chikaodili Ugochukwu and Dr Aremu Abayomi; in an 11-count bordering on illegal organ harvesting.” Suleman added, “The key witnesses fumbled several times upon cross-examination by the defence counsel.
It got so bad that twice in the four days of the hearing, on Tuesday, the 7th and Wednesday, the 8th of May, during the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses two and three respectively, the judge spoke in Pidgin English in utter disappointment and said ‘NAPTIP, una see una self?’ “All three kidney donors, Oluwatobi Saliman (Prosecution witness 1), Musa Yahaya (Prosecution witness 2) and Yahuza Aminu (Prosecution witness 3) admitted upon cross-examination by defence counsel, Afam Osigwe, SAN, that they did not at any time discuss the sale of their kidney with any staff of Alliance Hospital and that they were not offered any money by any staff of the hospital.
“Particularly noteworthy is the fact that all the prosecution witnesses so far presented said they never met the Medical Director of Alliance Hospital (Dr Christopher Otabor) until they saw him at the Police Station when he came to bail his staff that were arrested by the police several months after their organ surgery. “The three donors also informed the court that their bargain on the organ sale was with one Abdulrahman and Mayor (the first defendant) and the bargain was outside of Alliance Hospital. They were all paid after the surgery, largely by money transfer from the agents after they were discharged from the hospital.”
He noted that, following cross-examination and being confronted with documents from the defence counsel, which the court accepted as exhibits, it was revealed that there was actually a bargain and agreement of terms between the boys and the agents even before they came to Alliance Hospital. He added, “The defense counsel got permission from the judge to present two documents to each of the three donors: (i) The informed consent form which was duly signed by the donors and (ii) The court affidavit which was carrying their photographs and signatures.
“All the boys stated in their affidavit that they were above 18 years old and that they were donating willingly to their relatives without any financial inducement.
“The judge asked them if they signed the documents. The first two witnesses said yes, but asserted that the content was not explained to them while the 3rd witness denied every document presented to him including the witness statement he thumb printed on and signed at NAPTIP. Nevertheless, the documents were bearing his pictures and they all had similar signatures.”
