The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the arrest of an Abuja prison doctor on charges of failing to submit a medical report on a detained Binance Holdings Ltd executive, Tigran Gambaryan.
Mr. Gambaryan, a US citizen, has been detained at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja since his court appearance on money laundering charges in April.
The trial court issued an arrest warrant against Abraham Ehizojie, a doctor at the prison clinic, after he failed to obey the court summons to appear in court with the accused's medical report on Tuesday.
Judge Emeka Nwite made the order following an application by Gambaryan's lawyer, Mark Mordi, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accused, seated in a wheelchair, was rushed to the courtroom on a floor of the high-rise court complex on Tuesday morning.
He and Binance, a cryptocurrency firm, face five money laundering charges in court. Binance faces tax evasion charges in a separate case before another judge.
The senior executive's lawyer, Mr Mordi, had urged the court in earlier proceedings to order the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), the body that oversees all Nigerian prisons, to release Gambaryan's medical report amid growing concerns from his legal team and family about his poor health.
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Mr Mordi also urged the court to summon Mr Ehizojie, the prison doctor, to explain why he allegedly refused to make Mr Gambaryan's medical report available despite an earlier court order.
NAN reports that before filing the application on May 23, Mr Gambaryan collapsed in open court, which his lawyers attributed to his poor health.
A few days later, on May 27, defense law firm Aluko & Oyebode raised the alarm that the cryptocurrency company executive could die at the Kuje Correctional Center as a result of a worsening of his health condition.
In June, Gambaryan's wife also expressed concern for her husband's health and called on the U.S. government to pressure the Nigerian government to drop the charges against him and release him.
Ruling on the defence lawyer's request on 5 July, the judge ordered the NCoS management to publish Mr Gambaryan's medical report by 16 July (today).
Preparing to order arrest of doctor
At Tuesday's hearing, Mr Mordi told the judge that the Kuje prison doctor had not yet complied with a court order directing him to produce Mr Gambaryan's medical report.
The judge then asked a prison official who brought Mr Gambaryan to court about the development of the matter.
The prison official said he received the court order and handed it to the doctor on July 9 (last Tuesday).
“He is not here and I was hoping he would be here,” she added.
EFCC lawyer Ekene Iheanacho told the judge he expected the doctor to be in court.
Mr Mordi then urged the court to issue an arrest warrant against the prison doctor.
The lawyer also asked the court to order his client's immediate hospitalization for a thorough medical examination to determine his true state of health.
“My client arrived here in a wheelchair. He was complaining of back pain.
“We have to be careful with the life that is in our hands,” Mordi said.
Prosecution counsel Mr Iheanacho agreed that the accused should be given appropriate treatment but opposed the request to transfer Mr Gambaryan to a hospital for medical treatment.
After hearing the lawyers' arguments, Mr Nwite expressed disappointment that a government institution could treat a court order so lightly.
“I hereby issue a warrant for the arrest of the doctor of the Kuje Correctional Service to appear before this court,” he said.
He also ordered that Mr Gambaryan be transferred to Nizamiye Hospital for 24-hour medical care, at a time of his choosing, but under full security surveillance.
The judge set new hearings for October 11 and 18.
Earlier, the Head of the Payment Policy and Regulation Division of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olubukola Akinwunmi, testified as a prosecution witness.
Binance's lawyer, Babatunde Fagbohunlu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), cross-examined him. Binance is the first defendant, while Gambaryan is the second defendant.
Charges and bail
Gambaryan and Binance face five counts of money laundering offenses worth $35.4 million.
In May, the court rejected the Binance executive's bail request, deeming him a flight risk.
The court's decision came about two months after Gambaryan's colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, allegedly escaped from a remand prison in Abuja in March.
(YAYA)