Fellow Nurses Africa News, Lagos Nigeria. 8th September, 2025
What began as a promising career dedicated to caring for the most vulnerable unfolded into a profound personal and professional challenge for Emakpor Marvin Ogo, a compassionate psychiatric nurse working in the UK.
At the Crystal Ward, a specialized unit for women facing acute mental health crises under the East London NHS Foundation Trust at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, Ogo committed himself to supporting patients through their darkest moments.
Yet, in January 2016, an allegation emerged that would test his resolve and reshape his life: a patient claimed he made explicit sexual remarks, engaged in non-consensual physical contact, and committed an invasive act by reaching into her pyjama bottoms, leaving her feeling deeply unsafe and violated. Ogo, with quiet dignity, denied every aspect of the account, maintaining his innocence throughout.
The human toll of such accusations cannot be understated—on the patient, whose vulnerability in a place of healing was allegedly betrayed, and on Ogo, whose sense of purpose as a healer was suddenly cast into doubt. A thorough police investigation followed, leading to charges of assault by penetration and sexual assault.
In September 2017, after careful deliberation, a jury at Luton Crown Court acquitted him of all charges, a verdict that spoke to the rigorous “beyond reasonable doubt” standard of criminal justice and offered a measure of relief amid the ordeal.
However, the path forward remained fraught. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), entrusted with upholding the highest standards of nursing to protect the public, initiated its own independent review.
Operating under the “balance of probabilities” threshold—a standard more attuned to assessing professional fitness than proving criminal guilt—the NMC panel in November 2024 found that Ogo had engaged in sexually motivated misconduct, failed to adequately safeguard a vulnerable individual, and delayed notifying the regulator of his charges until August 2018.
With a heavy emphasis on patient safety and trust in the profession, they deemed his fitness to practise impaired, resulting in a striking-off order that barred him from nursing—a decision that, while protective in intent, carried immense emotional weight for a man who had devoted his life to care.
This chapter, marked by resilience and the quiet strength required to navigate such adversity, has now come to a close in 2025 when the NMC, upon Ogo’s determined appeal, convened a new panel that overturned the order.
In August of 2025, they concluded his fitness to practise was unimpaired, restoring his registration and allowing him to reclaim his calling. Though the NMC chose not to elaborate on whether the original allegations held in the rehearing, the outcome stands as a testament to the human capacity for perseverance and the system’s ability to reflect and amend.
This story serves as a reflective piece, reminding us of the delicate balance between accountability and empathy in healthcare, and the profound impact on those who serve on its front lines.
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