Protesting doctors demand release of abducted colleague, 20 UNIJOS students

The Association of Resident Doctors of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, during a peaceful protest around the hospital on Monday, demanded the release of their colleague, one of their members, Ganiyat Popoola, who was abducted late December last year in Kaduna State.

The doctors also demanded the freedom of the 20 medical students of the University of Jos and Maiduguri abducted along Otukpa-Otukpo-Enugu Road, Benue State on Thursday.

The ARD members led by their President, Olusola Monehin walked around the hospital while chanting for the unconditional and safe return of Dr Popoola and her nephew over seven months after their abduction.

Popoola was said to be a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna, before her abduction alongside her husband and nephew seven-year-old nephew.
But while her husband was released in March, the doctor and her nephew have continued to languish away in the custody of their kidnappers.

The doctors, during the protest, carried banners and placards bearing various messages such as “FG must help bring back Dr Ganiyat Popoola’’, “We demand the release of Dr Popoola now”, and ”The security agencies should help free Dr Popoola”, among others to drive home their demand.

Monehin said, “All we are saying is that the Federal Government should deploy all the resources at their disposal to set free Dr Ganiyat Popoola. This a mother of five for God’s sake. She even had a six-month-old baby at the time she was abducted.

“Here is a woman contributing her quota to qualitative health care delivery in the country, serving people with all her passion and over seven months after her abduction, we have not seen her return together with her nephew.

“And just on Thursday, another 20 medical students of the University of Jos were waylaid and abducted in Benue. This goes to show that the insecurity challenge is not getting better. We are therefore calling on the appropriate authority to act fast.

Protesting doctors. Photo Credit: Taiwo Bankole
“The security efforts should double up their efforts to get these Nigerians out of the gulag of these criminals. We are on our knees begging the government to act fast and do all that is necessary to free Dr Popoola and the 20 medical students.”

While reflecting on the ongoing doctors’ strike in the state over payment disparity, Monehin called on notable indigenes of the state to prevail on the governor, Dapo to accede to their demands.

He said, “This strike, though regrettable, is to help in delivering qualitative healthcare to the residents of the state or how much can we do when the few doctors that remain in the government-owned health facilities are also moving out to other neighbouring states, Babcock University Hospital among others because of remuneration?

“What we are demanding is an upward review of our CONMESS salary and this is something that we have been talking about since last year. We have other states like Lagos and others that have implemented it. We are saying that our earnings with doctors in federal government establishments and others must be the same.

“This is how we can retain the few hands that have not embraced “japa syndrome”, a term we popularly use for people travelling abroad to seek greener pasture because of poor remuneration, poor welfare and stifling working environment.”

“There is ongoing engagement with the government but it has not been fruitful because they are talking of minimum wage but what we are demanding is separate, it is the upward review of our salary structure, it comes first before the minimum wage.”

The immediate past state Chairman of Nigeria Medical Association, Kunle Ashimi had on August 3, directed the doctors in the state to embark on an indefinite strike over the indifference of the state government to implementing the CONMESS upward review.