The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has hinted on the reason health practitioners are prime targets of kidnappers.
No less than 32 medical doctors are still in captivity, including Ganiyat Popoola, a Kaduna-based doctor, who has been in the kidnappers’ den since December 27, 2023.
On Monday, NARD commenced a seven-day warning strike to push for the rescue of Popoola.
Popoola, a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre, was abducted alongside her husband, Nurudeen Popoola, a squadron leader, and her nephew, Folaranmi Abdul-Mugniy, who stays with them.
After negotiation with the kidnappers, the husband was released on March 8, 2024, but the doctor and Abdul-Mugniy were not released despite the payment of N120m ransom.
Innocent Abah, The President of the Association at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, said aside from Popoola, 31 other kidnapped medical doctors were in captivity.
“As I speak with you right now, we have about 32 of our members currently in captivity. Some were noted to have died. For some, ransom has been paid, but they have not been reunited with their families. Some are alive, but our data shows that about 32 of our members are currently in captivity,” Abah disclosed.
Kefas Wida, NARD Vice President II and Chairman of the Medical Education Committee, said the constant capture of medical doctors was due to the kidnappers’ need for medical services at their hideouts.
She said, “The kidnappers are abducting doctors so they can treat other victims they have kidnapped, and this has been a consistent strategy.
“This kidnapping of doctors cuts across all regions, zones, and states in the country. The part that worries us most is that there is a problem on ground, and if you cannot enrich them, if you cannot give them the best practices of service, the least you should do is to make sure that they are alive and healthy to work.
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“Once that’s not there, then there’s no basis for work, everybody should stay at home so that we know that everybody does not have this problem.”
Corroborating Wida’s position, the President of ARD at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Charles Aisudo, said some of the released doctors told the association that they were used to attend to the medical needs of the kidnappers and victims at their camps.
“Most of the doctors kidnapped and later released told us that they were used by the kidnappers as a stop-gap to treat the injured or sick ones among the gang, and to provide medical services to other kidnap victims and write drug prescriptions for them. Yes, that is what they do and that is what our freed colleagues have said,” he stated.
Abah said the association had seen an upsurge in the kidnap of doctors and health workers. The Abuja ARD president said until the government rose to the challenge, nothing would happen.
“Before, you used to have like two cases in a month, but now, it has become a weekly occurrence. This tells you that something is not right. We understand that kidnapping is a general problem. However, recent evidence has shown that doctors are targets. It is not as if doctors are kidnapped on the highway or walkways, but right inside their facilities. Prof Ekanem was kidnapped inside her clinic in Calabar,” he added.
Also, Abah who earlier spoke to Saturday Punch, identified the doctors abducted in 2021 as Akindele Kayode (abducted January 4), Dr Oladunni Odetola (April 4), Solomon Ndiamaka (July 19), Edmund Akpaikpe (November 19), Zubair Erubu (December 9) and Dr Saidu Bala (December 10).
Those taken in 2022 include Samuel Audu (January 9), Felix Ekpo (February 22), Bulama (March 15), Chinelo Megafu (March 28), and Dr Steven Baashaw (December 10).
The 2023 list includes Prof. Ekanem Phillip (July 13), Orockarrah Orock (November 4), and Ganiyat Popoola (December 27).
For 2024, some of the abducted doctors are John Robin Esu (April 30), Gimba’s Family (June 27), Steven Ezeh (August 15), and Olufunke Fadahunsi (August 23).
However, five other doctors – Dr Luis Onyeukwu (August 15, 2024), Dr Asema Msuega (July 23, 2023), Dr Nwoga Innocent and Dr Obadiah Etito (May 13, 2023) and Dr Alex Igyemwase (November 22, 2022) were said to have been released by their captors.
