Nigerian doctor who lied about his age jailed in UK for killing patient

A Nigerian-born doctor, Isyaka Mamman, has been jailed three years in the United Kingdom (UK) after pleading guilty to manslaughter by gross negligence of one of his patients.

In a press statement by the Greater Manchester Police, “Isyaka Mamman (16/10/36) of Cumberland Drive, Royton, was today (Tuesday 5 July 2022) sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to three years imprisonment after pleading guilty, at an earlier hearing, to the manslaughter by gross negligence of one of his patients.

“Prosecutors told the court that the 48-year-old female patient had died shortly after a diagnostic procedure performed by Mamman in the Haematology Unit of a hospital on Monday 3 September 2018.

“Following her death, a consultant provided an expert opinion that the procedure had been inappropriately and incompetently performed.

“Detective Inspector Rachel Smith, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “It is tragic that someone who attended the hospital for a diagnostic procedure to plan their treatment and, ultimately, make them feel better ended up dying at the hands of a doctor. Our thoughts remain with the victim’s family and loved ones.

“The vast majority of doctors are highly qualified professionals with the skills required to provide excellent care to their patients. Mamman, on the other hand, completely disregarded the basic and in-depth knowledge expected of a medic.

“This prosecution, on which we worked closely with the CPS, will ensure that, going forwards, no patients are put at risk of harm by Mamman.”

Meanwhile, Mamman was earlier found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council and suspended for 12 months for lying about his age.

He qualified as a doctor in Nigeria in 1965 and had worked in the UK since 1991 but, throughout his career, he gave a number of different birth dates.

During his medical training, he gave a date of 16 September 1936, which meant that he was 21 when he began his medical training and 81 at the time of the fatal incident.

He later revised his date of birth down to 1941 and, as it was approaching his time to retire, he changed it again to October 1947.

The date, which would imply he started his degree at the age of 10, was used on his application for naturalisation as a British citizen in 2001.