Court acquits Dr Olufunmilayo Ogunsanya of rape, abusive relationship charges levelled by ex-girlfriend Aseyan

Olufunmilayo Ogunsanya, a Nigerian-born physician and social media celebrity, has been exonerated by the United Kingdom’s Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) of the rape and domestic violence claims that his ex-girlfriend Bola Aseyan brought up against him in 2020.

According to documents from the tribunal that were made public on Wednesday morning, Mr. Ogunsanya was exonerated of all accusations after extensive inquiry failed to find any evidence of misconduct against him.

As a result, the panel determined that Mr. Ogunsanya’s professional record and ability to continue practicing medicine in the UK were not harmed.

“As the facts have not been found proved it therefore follows that Dr Ogunsanya’s fitness to practise is not impaired,” the panel said in its July 19, 2023 verdict.

According to documents obtained by Platinum Times Nigeria, the panel looked into over 20 allegations made against Mr. Ogunsanya and, after numerous seatings and adjournments, determined that there was no evidence to support any of them.

Ms. Aseyan, a medical doctor who also filed the initial accusations against Mr. Ogunsanya, used social media in 2020 to make a number of allegations against him, including rape, domestic violence, and torture of the mind.

Mr. Ogunsanya, who at the time was well-known on Twitter for his medical analyses and comments, immediately acknowledged his association with Ms. Aseyan but vehemently rejected all allegations of rape and abuse. He also presented proof that at the time seemed to exonerate him.

When the UK police became involved, they didn’t discover any evidence that Mr. Ogunsanya had done anything improper. Before the subject was ultimately brought before the MPTS, the General Medical Council was also probed.

Subsequently, Ms. Aseyan erased her Twitter account and vanished from all social media. Platinum Times learned that she also left the UK and went back to Nigeria, where she had been hopping through hospitals. Months after the accusations, Mr. Ogunsanya, who had more than 400,000 Twitter followers before stepping down for personal reasons, brought defamation claims against Ms. Aseyan in Nigeria.

After the MPTS’s judgment earlier today, The Gazette was unable to contact Ms. Aseyan for comment.

Mr. Ogunsanya, who earned a degree from Nigeria’s Olabisi Onabanjo University before relocating to the UK in 2012 to complete his medical studies and launch a career, declined to comment to The Gazette on the situation.

However, Mr. Ogunsaya’s Nigerian attorney, Inibehe Effiong, was doing well, and Ms. Aseyan would be held accountable for her false and defamatory claims.

“Bolanle Aseyan is currently facing both civil and criminal lawsuits in Nigeria for her actions,” Mr Effiong said. “No one should have to go through what Funmi has ensured these past years. False rape allegations should never be trivialised. It is evil and despicable.”

“Funmi is doing well and he sends his regards to all those who have stood by him and believed in his innocence,” the Lagos-based lawyer added.