A Nigerian midwife and FGM campaigner, Comfort Iyabo Amah Momoh is under investigation in the United Kingdom for allegedly exaggerating her professional qualifications.
The Midwife, 55, a well-known campaigner against female genital mutilation set up the country’s first FGM clinic and was awarded an MBE for services to women’s health care.
A report by BBC revealed that Mrs. Momoh overstated her professional qualifications. She is said to have repeatedly described herself as ‘Dr. Momoh’ despite not being a qualified medical doctor.
The 55-year-old who has an honorary doctorate from Middlesex University that still doesn't make her a doctor is also being addressed as a doctor on the website of Guys’ and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London where she ran the FGM clinic.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council confirmed that she is under investigation but declined to reveal details.
According to the BBC programme Newsnight, Mrs. Momoh has also examined children for FGM at least five times despite not having the relevant qualifications. Official medical guidelines state that only a doctor with specialist training should examine child abuse victims.
Mail Online reports that in 2014, a judge described Mrs. Momoh as ‘not a reliable witness’ during a court case in Leeds in which a girl was alleged to have had undergone FGM.
The Judge, Sir James Munby said she merited ‘harsh criticism’ and had ‘difficulty in providing answers about even the simplest factual question’.
After examining the girl, Mrs. Momoh originally said there was evidence to suggest that the child had been subjected to ‘some form of FGM’. But in oral evidence in court, she changed her findings.
Sir James Munby, who also serves as the president of the Family Division, described her report as ‘a remarkably shoddy piece of work’ and ‘worse than useless’.
Judge Munby concluded there was not enough evidence to suggest that the child had undergone FGM, after Mrs. Momoh’s examination was reviewed by an expert.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council, which regulates midwives, said an investigation into Mrs. Momoh was opened last month. It declined to com. With lib
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