The Sierra Leone High Court has ruled against a foreign doctor’s application to register and practice medicine in the country, citing his lack of merit and the Medical and Dental Council’s adherence to its mandate.

Cyprian Ibeawugnichim Okoro, a Nigerian doctor who qualified in 1986, filed a lawsuit against the Sierra Leone Medical and Dental Council in September 2023. However, Justice Komba Kamanda dismissed the case on January 17th, 2024, stating that Okoro’s application “lacked merit” due to the Council’s rightful actions.

Okoro’s past in Nigeria and the United Kingdom raised concerns about his suitability to practice medicine in Sierra Leone. In 2013, he received an interim suspension from the Nigerian General Medical Council. Subsequently, a court in England found him guilty of possessing extreme pornography, and he has faced accusations of sexual assault against women.

The Council, acting within its legal authority, denied Okoro’s registration based on these concerns. The High Court upheld the Council’s decision, affirming its responsibility to protect the public by ensuring only qualified and ethical medical practitioners operate in Sierra Leone.

“THAT, the application herein by originating summons dated 18 day of September 2023 against the medical and Dental council of Sierra Leone at the barest of Cyprian Ibeawughichim Okoro is hereby struck off on the basis that it lacks merit in that the medical and Dental Council of Sierra Leone acted with mandate.” the court ruled.