A recent investigation by FF12 has brought to light serious concerns about Dr. Bamidele Adeagbo, a forensic pathologist who influenced the outcome of over 5000 autopsies in Alberta and served as an expert witness in homicide cases for the Crown. The revelation of discrepancies in his credentials poses significant questions about the integrity of numerous judicial outcomes in the province.
In a developing story that raises serious questions about the Alberta justice system, Dr. Bamidele Adeagbo, a forensic pathologist whose role in the government of Alberta influenced approximately 5000 autopsies, faces allegations of inconsistent academic credentials, shaking the foundations of legal trust in the province, impacting police investigations, and Crown prosecutions.
In 2019, Dr. Adeagbo's professional credibility was first publicly challenged in Lethbridge by Justice Terry Clackson, who criticized his testimony, citing his "garbled enunciation; his failure to use appropriate endings for plurals and past tenses; his failure to use the appropriate definite and indefinite articles; his repeated emphasis of the wrong syllables; dropping his Hs; mispronouncing his vowels; and the speed of his responses." These remarks in the court judgment led to accusations of racism against Justice Terry Clackson.
Yet, it was the recent December 2021 revelations from FF12 that brought these concerns into sharper focus. A resident of Alberta named Bob Rai was affected by an autopsy report prepared by Adeagbo.
Fact Finder 12's investigation into Dr. Adeagbo's past revealed significant discrepancies, casting doubt on his academic qualifications.
Further, the Federation Credentials Verification Service could not obtain transcripts from Adeagbo’s medical school in Nigeria, raising more concerns.
The Alberta Ministry of Justice, through its Justice and Solicitor General entity, utilized Dr. Adeagbo as an expert witness in homicide cases.
Furthermore, he concluded thousands of deaths as suicides, accidental, undetermined, and natural. His significant influence in the courtroom and on judicial decisions, as an unqualified expert witness, has profoundly impacted the lives of numerous Albertans.
This situation is compounded by the 2014 resignation of Alberta's then-chief medical examiner, Dr. Anny Sauvageau, who alleged political interference in death investigations.
Combined with the current issues surrounding Dr. Adeagbo, this paints a troubling picture of potential systemic problems within the Alberta government ministries of Health and Justice.
What sort of background checks did the Crown Prosecutor Services in Alberta conduct before appointing Dr. Adeagbo as an expert witness? Similarly, what measures did the Health Ministry take to verify his credentials before employing him as a forensic pathologist?
These questions lead to an even more unsettling possibility:
Did these public institutions overlook these inconsistencies, potentially allowing political influence to sway the appointment of a forensic pathologist whom they could discredit and dismiss at any point?
Or, if we consider this an innocent oversight by the government, it raises a broader concern:
How many more expert witnesses and doctors might be serving in the province with false resumes or questionable credentials?
The public is left questioning how the families affected by Dr. Adeagbo’s autopsies can trust the final histories of their loved ones, given the apparent lack of verification of his foreign medical degree.
Stay tuned for more in-depth stories on this matter.
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