Insecurity: Plateau Resident Doctors Protest Incessant Kidnap of Members, Threaten Strike
Seriki Adinoyi in Jos
Resident doctors at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) Thursday, protested the incessant abduction of members, describing it as unacceptable, adding that the development could hinder them from delivering efficient services to patients.
The doctors, who took a peaceful protest walk from the gate of the hospital through the administrative building, and round the entire premises of the hospital, bore placards with various inscription such as: ‘Enough is Enough’, ‘Stop Kidnapping of Doctors’, ‘Save us from Kidnappers’, ‘Stop the Harassment of Doctors’, ‘Stop Insecurity’. They lamented that doctors are no longer safe in Plateau State and in Nigeria.
Addressing journalists, the spokesman of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NADR), JUTH chapter, Dr. Noel Nnaegbuna, lamented that the recent abductions of two of its members in Jos, and the poor and unacceptable response they got from government and security agents were disheartening.
Nnaegbuna said that the doctors are seriously grieved that their colleagues and their families have suffered physical, mental, psychological, and emotional trauma in the hands of abductors in recent days, calling on the state and federal government to come to their rescue.
He noted that the protest was to draw government’s attention to the deteriorating security situation in Jos and Plateau State, and to let government know that if the insecurities persist, doctors may not be able to give their best in the current circumstance.
He said: “We would have embarked on strike, but for the sake of innocent Nigerians who will need health care services, we have resorted to this peaceful protest to convey our displeasure with recent happenings. But if this continues, we cannot guarantee continued uninterrupted service delivery by our members.”
THISDAY gathered that doctors in the state and their families have suffered incessant abductions and harassment in the hands of kidnappers, who would extort huge amounts from them as ransom before releasing their victim.
