An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced one Olatide Emmanuel, 48, to death by hanging for the murder of a woman, Bosede Falade, whom he allegedly killed through unprofessional childbirth procedures while posing as a medical doctor.
Justice Jubril Aladejana handed down the maximum sentence on Tuesday after the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Emmanuel was arraigned in 2025 on two counts of murder and impersonation over the June 24, 2019 incident at Odo Ikole compound, Erinmope Ekiti.
The charge stated that he murdered Falade and falsely represented himself as a medical doctor on June 9, 2019 at Ajebamidele Street, Otun Ekiti, contrary to Sections 316 and 319(1) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.
Prosecutor Kunle-Shina Adeyemo called seven witnesses and tendered statements, medical reports and photographs of the deceased as exhibits.
Eyewitness Rev. Omotade told the court he was alerted by Falade’s husband about her death during childbirth, and upon inspection found the Caesarean section performed unprofessionally.
The convict claimed he set up a clinic in Erinmope after nursing apprenticeship in Lagos, conducted a successful C-section on Falade who was not his regular patient, but she developed fatal complications post-delivery.
In his ruling, Justice Aladejana described Emmanuel as “wickedly reckless” and “inherently callous” for cutting open a patient without medical qualifications.
“The reckless action of the defendant caused the woman’s death on 24th June, 2019,” the judge held, ordering: “You, Olatide Emmanuel, be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May the Lord have mercy on your soul.”
Emmanuel’s counsel, Adeyinka Opaleke, called no witnesses. The case underscores dangers of quackery in Nigeria’s healthcare sector, where unqualified practitioners continue to endanger lives amid widespread access to maternal services.
