UK tribunal sanctions 18 Nigerian doctors over rape, fraud, others

At least 18 Nigerian-trained or Nigerian medical professionals appeared before the United Kingdom’s Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) between July 2025 and July 2026 over allegations and findings ranging from rape, fraud and theft to drug possession, reckless driving, unsafe prescribing and practising medicine without a valid licence.

A review of tribunal records showed that 10 of the 18 doctors, representing 55.6 per cent, were suspended, while at least three, or 16.7 per cent, were struck off the UK Medical Register.

One doctor, representing 5.6 per cent, received a warning, while applications by two others, or 11.1 per cent, to be restored to the medical register were rejected.

The MPTS later found that his fitness to practise was impaired and erased his name from the medical register in September 2025.

Among the doctors suspended was Sandra Ndirika, a urology trainee at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.

The tribunal found that Ndirika stole £30 from a patient, cloned the patient’s bank card and used it to make online purchases.

In a separate incident, she was found to have stolen a colleague’s purse from a staff room and used the bank card inside it to order food online.

Ndirika was convicted at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court and sentenced to about four months in prison in December 2023.

The tribunal subsequently suspended her for 18 months and ordered her to pay £425 in compensation to the victims.

Ifeanyi Ntomchukwu, a senior registrar at Royal Derby Maternity Hospital, was given a two-month suspension over reckless driving and deliberate breaches of motoring laws.

Between July and September 2024, police caught Ntomchukwu driving at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour despite holding only a provisional driving licence and driving without supervision.

He was convicted of eight motoring offences and fined £4,307.

The tribunal also found that he waited almost four months before notifying the GMC of his conviction and concluded that his conduct had seriously undermined public confidence in the medical profession.

Tijjani Shehu, a doctor at King’s Mill Hospital in England, was suspended for 12 months over failures in the assessment and treatment of a seriously ill patient.

The tribunal heard that Shehu was treating a patient suffering from a severe bacterial infection that had progressed to sepsis. It found that he failed to properly consider the patient’s other symptoms, medical history and an alternative diagnosis. The patient later died.

However, at least one Nigerian-related case was reportedly heard in almost every month during the period reviewed.

The cases come against the backdrop of the UK remaining one of the largest destinations for Nigerian medical professionals.

More than 5,600 doctors have moved from Nigeria to the UK over the past decade, while the NHS identified Nigerians as one of its five largest employee nationality groups in 2024.

The review also highlighted differences in disciplinary transparency between Nigeria and the UK. While the MPTS routinely publishes details of hearings and decisions, the review said comparable comprehensive disciplinary records were not readily accessible through the website of Nigeria’s Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

Overall, suspensions accounted for the largest proportion of sanctions among the 18 Nigerian-related cases reviewed, representing about 56 per cent of the cases.

The cases covered a broad range of professional and criminal misconduct, including sexual misconduct, fraud, theft, dishonesty, drug possession, reckless driving, unsafe prescribing, unauthorised medical practice and failures to comply with professional regulatory requirements.