Muhuyi Magaji risks 14 year jail term over false medical report
POLITICS DIGEST– The suspended chairman of Kano State Public Complaint and Anti Corruption Commission PCACC Muhuyi Magaji may get up to 14 years for presenting false medical report to Kano state House of Assembly.
A private legal practitioner in Kano Abdulaziz Adamu Ahmad said the act of Mr Magaji amount to an offence known as ‘forgery’ as stated by section 362 of Penal Code of Northern Nigeria.
Mr Magaji has on July 14 presented a medical report to Kano state House Assembly adhoc committee constituted to investigate a petition against him from office of the Accountant General of the state.
The suspended chairman of PCACC through his counsel Usman Fari said he was undergoing a medical diagnosis at National Hospital, Abuja
However, the Hospital in a letter dated July 19, 2021 and sent to clerk of Kano state House Assembly said there is no patient named ‘Muhuyi Magaji’ in their hospital record and no folder was opened in that name.
The letter written by the Director Clinical services in the Hospital, Aisha Umar said the name and signature of the doctor (Dr. Bayo) on the medical report do not belong to any staff of National Hospital, Abuja.
It therefore declare the medical report as ‘NOT authentic’.
The letter reads in part:
“Kindly refer to your letter with ref. No KNHA/CON/077 dated 16th July, 2021 on the above subject matter, in which you requested the hospital to verify the authenticity or otherwise of attached medical report/documents.
“Following your request on the above, and subsequent investigations, we wish to state the following findings:
“There is no patient named ‘Muhuyi Magaji’ in their hospital record and no folder was opened in that name.
“That by our records, the name and signature of the doctor (Dr. Bayo) on the medical report do not belong to any staff of National Hospital, Abuja.
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“Laboratory investigation in the National Hospital are no longer manually written on paper, but electronically transmitted.
“In the light of the above Sir, the medical report/documents which you attached it’s photocopies are not authentic.
“On behalf of the Chief Medical Director, please accept our warm regards.
“Dr A. A Umar, Director, Clinical Services/CMAC on behalf of the Chief Medical Director.
Muhuyi Magaji risks 14 year jail term
Mr Ahmad argued that the embattled chairman of PCACC risks getting 14 year jail term for committing forgery.
According to Mr Ahmad the ingredients of that offence include presenting false document to public institution with the intention of misleading that institution to believe that said document is genuine and is from lawful authority.
Mr Ahmad added that section 364 of Penal Code stipulated a fourteen year jail term for such offence with imprisonment or both imprisonment and fine.
He described Magaji’s act as “Illegal and embarrassing’ that shall not be sweep under the carpet.
The legal practitioner suggested that the matter should be forwarded to police for thorough investigation.
What law says on forgery
Section 362 (A) of penal code defined forgery as “A person is said to make a false document – who is dishonestly or fraudulently makes, signs, seals, or execute a document or part of a document or mark denoting the execution with the intention of causing it to be believed that such document or part of a document was made, signed, sealed or executed or at a time which he knows that it was not made, signed, sealed or executed.”
Also section 364 of the same penal code said “Whoever committs forgery shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to fourteen years or with fine or with both.”
Source: Kano Focus
