By Stephen Simon
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has filed a fresh 12-count criminal charge against Abuja-based fertility doctor and cleric, Pastor John Abebe, over alleged offences including the sale of human embryos, unlawful disclosure of patients’ medical records, fraud, conspiracy and providing false information to police investigators.
Also named as defendants in the fresh charge are Joje Abebe Fertility Centre Limited, the medical facility associated with Abebe, and Balikis Olanike Bakare.
The charge was filed on July 21, 2026, at the registry of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and contains wider allegations relating to fertility treatments and transactions involving patients of the centre.
According to the charge, Abebe, Bakare and the fertility centre are accused of criminal conspiracy, conspiracy to commit fraud and providing allegedly false information intended to mislead police investigators, among other offences.
Abebe, who is also described in the charge as a pastor with the Living Faith Church, popularly known as Winners Chapel, Durumi, Abuja, had previously been charged alongside his fertility centre in an earlier three-count case filed by the Inspector-General of Police on January 12, 2026.
Abebe and the fertility centre were arraigned on March 11, 2026, before Justice Akeem Fashola of Court 31, Jabi, Abuja, and were subsequently granted bail. Bakare was not named as a defendant in the earlier case.
The Attorney-General later took over the prosecution from the Inspector-General of Police when the matter came up on June 18, 2026. The takeover reportedly followed developments surrounding an earlier attempt to arraign Abebe on February 19, 2026, involving the then Commander of the Special Tactical Squad, Dauda Iliya Ayuba.
In one of the major allegations contained in the fresh charge, prosecutors accused Abebe of selling nine of 12 embryos belonging to a couple identified as Mr and Mrs Adamu Hassan to other patients. The embryos were described as comprising two male and seven female embryos.
The prosecution further alleged that Abebe defrauded the couple of ₦19 million in connection with fertility treatment and related transactions. It also alleged that fake or substandard drugs were administered during treatment, allegedly causing the menstrual cycle of a woman identified as Mrs Manga to cease from January 2025 and contributing to a continued deterioration in her health.
Another allegation concerns the purported transfer of two male embryos to a woman identified as Miss Joy Ene Pius, who was described as a surrogate mother. Prosecutors alleged that Abebe and Bakare represented that the transfer had taken place, but said evidence gathered by investigators contradicted the account.
The fresh charge also contains allegations concerning the disclosure of confidential medical information belonging to patients without lawful authority, adding another dimension to the criminal case against the defendants.
The filing comes against the backdrop of an earlier position by Abebe’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, who had maintained that the Federal Government had not filed any fresh criminal charge against his client. The latest court filing, however, contains 12 counts and adds Bakare as a defendant alongside Abebe and the fertility centre.
The defendants have not been convicted of any of the alleged offences. The allegations remain the prosecution’s case and must be established before the court before any criminal liability can arise.
The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on the fresh 12-count charge on October 28, 2026, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
