Resident doctors, under the aegis of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Saturday, staged a nationwide protest to drive home their demand for the release of their colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola abducted in Kaduna State on 27th December, 2023
They have threatened to down tools if the woman was not freed by her abductors.
Dr Popoola, a nursing mother was abducted alongside her husband and her nephew from their official quarters at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna, on the 27th December, 2023.
In Delta State, doctors at the Federal Medical Centre, (FMC) Asaba, marched round the hospital premises chanting songs of solidarity in procession and demanding that the government urgently secure the release of their colleague from the kidnappers.
The National Assistant Secretary of NARD and immediate past President of FMC Asaba Chapter, Dr Asore, confirmed that the national body had done everything necessary to secure the release of their colleague but to no avail.
“We have done everything possible to get Dr Ganiyat Popoola released. It has been promises upon promises by security agencies.
“We intended doing a nationwide protest but for the fragility of the country at the moment coming from the End Bad Governance protest, we decided to shelve it by asking our members at individual states to restrict the protest within their hospital premises,” he said.
Speaking to the press during the protest, the President of the FMC Asaba Chapter of the Association of Resident Doctors, Dr Kenneth Okolie disparaged the attitude of government towards medical personnel in the country, maintaining that the security of health workers had remained a less priority to the political leaders.
He said the behaviour had led to the Japa syndrome in the medical profession
