Nigerian Doctor Suspended in Canada for Making Sexual Comments to Patients

A tribunal has found Dr. Adekunle Williams Owolabi guilty of all four professional misconduct complaints lodged against him and suspended his licence to practise for six months. 

The decision was given Monday in St. John's, at the professional misconduct hearing against Owolabi conducted by a tribunal panel established by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador. 

At an earlier hearing, Labrador teacher Arlene Johnson testified that when she visited Owolabi for a pelvic exam he made comments that she believed were sexual.

She also said that after the test, he hugged her and whispered in her ear: "You have a beautiful c--t, does your husband tell you that?" Another complainant testified that during a pelvic examination, Owolabi asked, "Do you like big ones or small ones?"  She said Owolabi made the comments while she was pregnant, undressed from the waist down, and had her feet in stirrups. There were two female secretaries in the room at the time, she said.

The tribunal said Owolabi's inappropriate comments and touching of patients showed a lack of respect for the dignity and privacy of patients, which it determined constituted professional misconduct deserving sanction. Owolabi was given a six-month suspension of his medical licence. The tribunal ordered that he have a chaperone present when he sees female patients for two years after returning to practise. In addition, he must take a training course about respecting patients and was ordered to pay $75,000 towards the costs of holding a hearing.